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Class. 
Book. 



Copyright If. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



HALF HOURS 



WITH 



FISHES, REPTILES, AND BIRDS 



BY 



CHARLES FREDERICK HOLDER 

AUTHOR OF "ELEMENTS OF ZOOLOGY," "STORIES OF ANIMAL 
LIFE," "LIFE OF LOUIS AGASSIZ," ETC. 




NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
TwoC»Dies Received 

AUG 1 1906 

^Cooyierht Entry 
CLASS CU XXc. No, 



QL-50 
•Hli: 



Copyright, 1906, by 
.CHARLES F. HOLDER. 

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London. 



FISHES, REPTILES, AND BIRDS. 

w. p. 1 



PREFACE 

At the present day education is not complete without 
definite courses of nature study. We are living in an age 
of strenuous business life and activity, where the best 
equipped students along the various lines secure the best 
positions. Time was when zoology, botany, and kindred 
nature studies were classed with music and the so-called 
dead languages, and were taken up as incidentals or were 
employed in "mind training"; but to-day there are a 
thousand branches of trade and commerce which require 
knowledge that can be obtained only through nature 
study. 

It is not necessary that the student, unless he intends 
to be a teacher of science or a professional naturalist, 
should be able to pass examinations in the abstruse clas- 
sification of animals or delve into difficult anatomical 
studies. What the average student needs is a broad and 
general idea of animal life, its great divisions, and notably 
the relationship of the lower animals to man in an eco- 
nomic sense, the geographical distribution of animals, etc. 
It is vastly more important for the coming lumber mer- 
chant to know the relationship which forests bear to the 
water supply, and to have a general idea of forestry and 
the trees which make forests, than to^ be able to recite a 
long formula of classification or analysis, of value only to 
the advanced student or specialist. The future merchant 
who is to deal in alpaca, leather, dye, skins, hair, bone 
products, shell, pearl, lac, animal food products, ivory, 
whalebone, guano, feathers, and countless other articles 

3 



4 PREFACE 

derived from animals is but poorly equipped for the strug- 
gle for business supremacy if he is not prepared by nature 
study, nature readings, and other practical instruction along 
these lines. 

It is believed to-day by those who have given the sub- 
ject the closest attention that the initial move of the 
teacher should be to call the attention of the child to the 
beauties of nature, the works of the Infinite, and thus 
early inculcate a habit of observation. The toys of the 
kindergarten should be fruits, flowers, shrubs, trees, peb- 
bles, and vistas of mountains, hills, lakes, and streams, 
and nature study in some form should be continuous in 
school life. 

In the following readings the story of lower animal life 
has been presented on broad lines, divested of technicality, 
and at almost every step supplemented by forceful and 
explanatory illustrations as ocular aids to the reader. The 
subject has been divested of dry detail, and I have intro- 
duced notes and incidents, the results of personal obser- 
vation and investigation in various lands and seas, and 
have given attention to the often neglected fauna of the 
Pacific coast as well as that of other regions. 

While the volume is a supplementary reader, the matter 
is so arranged that it can be used by the teacher as a text- 
book, and the pupil who undertakes the various " half- 
hour readings" of this series will have covered in the 
main the ground of the ordinary text-book for interme- 
diate grades in the form of readings. In a word, I have 
endeavored to make this volume a popular combined re- 
view and supplemental reader on the fishes, reptiles, and 
birds. 

CHARLES F. HOLDER. 

Pasadena, California. 



CONTENTS 

FISHES 

PAGE 

The Birds of the Sea ......... 7 

A Living Machine 15 

The Distribution of Fishes . . . . . . .21 

The Light Bearers of the Deep Sea 25 

Young Fishes 42 

The Nest-building Fishes ....... 46 

The Struggle for Life 51 

The Sharks and Rays ........ 58 

Dry-land Fishes ......... 63 

Weapons of Fishes 68 

Flying and Leaping Fishes 73 

The Value of Fishes to Man yy 

REPTILES 

The Salamanders 80 

Frogs and Toads 8y 

The Snakes 96 

The Lizards 103 

The Turtles 114 

The Crocodiles . . . 123 

BIRDS 

The Birds 129 

Ancient Birds . . 136 

Living Giants 142 

5 



D CONTENTS 

PAGE 

In a Penguin Rookery 149 

The Auks and their Friends 152 

Some Ocean Flyers 157 

The Pelicans and Ducks .167 

Some Wading Birds 176 

Some Scratching Birds . . . . . . . .189 

Birds of Prey 200 

The Owls and Parrots 207 

Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, etc. 211 

Some Perching Birds 223 

The Finches and Sparrows 235 

Tanagers, Swallows, and Others 238 

Bird Migration 250 

Index 253 



HALF HOURS WITH 

FISHES, REPTILES, AND BIRDS 

FISHES 
THE BIRDS OF THE SEA 

Fishes are the birds of the sea. How true this is can 
be appreciated by imagining that the ocean is the atmos- 
phere, not a very difficult feat if we glance down into it 
from a glass-bottomed boat or watch the graceful play of 
fishes in an aquarium. The water seems to be the air 
through which the fish flies. See how it poises, the fins 
or wings waving to and fro with a gentle undulatory move- 
ment, preserving its balance perfectly ; when alarmed, the 
fish darts forward with the velocity of an arrow and dis- 
appears. 

The habits of fishes carry out the resemblance to birds. 
Some are the larks of the sea, as the sardines, menhaden, 
and bluefish. They are always in midwater, rarely resting 
upon the bottom, and probably sleep poised. Others re- 
semble the land birds, as the domestic fowl, quail, turkey, 
and other poor fliers. Such are the flounder, which al- 
ways lies on the bottom, the little toadfish, the horned 
shark, which coils up among the rocks and apparently 
goes to sleep, and many of the rays. 

Fishes recall the birds in their habits of migration. 
They move north and south, in and out of deep water, 

7 



8 THE BIRDS OF THE SEA 

according to the season. The bluefish and many others 
swim off shore in winter. The dogfish appears on the 
New England coast in vast schools, without warning, in 
summer. On the coast of California the migrations of 
fishes are equally wonderful ; the shore line is a great 
highway up and down which the vast schools move in 
spring and autumn. The yellowtail appears in March and 
remains until December, when it seeks deep water off the 
great submarine plateau. The flying fish moves north in 
April, and goes south in September, and many fishes 
migrate with all the regularity of birds. 

In their food-taking habits the fishes resemble the birds. 
The sharks and dogfishes are the eagles and hawks of the 
sea. The mullet and sturgeon, groping in the mud for 
their food, recall the ducks. The stately barracuda poises 
in one spot just as the man-of-war bird rides the gale, 
holding its position for hours. The fishes build nests very 
similar to those of the birds. The nests of some, as the 
sunfish, resemble those of gulls, being mere hollows in the 
sand. Other fishes, as the paradise fish, with its bubble 
nest, remind us of the building habits of grebes, while the 
little nest of the stickleback is almost as complicated at 
times as that of the oriole. 

Are not the fishes as beautiful as the birds ? Observe 
the common goldfish or the blue or green parrot fishes. 
The plumage of the golden pheasant is not more resplen- 
dent, while the birds of paradise have gorgeous counter- 
parts in the angel and coral fishes of the tropics, bedecked 
in lines of red, yellow, green, and many combinations of 
color and tone which make them the most conspicuous 
creatures of the sea, The fishes resemble the birds in 



THE FRAME OF THE FISH 



many other respects, and are often as wonderful in their 
structure; that they are not so thoroughly appreciated is 
probably because they are not so well known. 



THE FRAME OF THE FISH 

It has been seen that fishes resemble birds in many 
ways, yet this does not indicate an actual relationship. If 




Fig. i.— Skeleton of the Common Perch {Perca fluviatilis). 

/.pectoral fin; v, one of the ventral fins; a, anal fin, supported upon interspinous 
bones (t) ; c, caudal fin; d, first dorsal fin; d' , second dorsal fin, both sup- 
ported upon interspinous bones; i i, interspinous bones; r, ribs; s, spinous 
processes of vertebras ; k, haemal processes of vertebrae. 

the skeleton of a bird is compared with that of a fish, but 
one striking point of resemblance will be found, — the 
backbone. Birds and fishes belong to the same great 
branch, the vertebrates, or backboned animals. 

The reader has learned by experience that when eating 
fish he must avoid the bones. There are so many of 
them, they are so fine and so sharp, that one can almost 
believe that they must be a source of discomfort to the 
fish itself, yet on glancing at the skeleton of a fish (Fig. i) 



IO THE FRAME OF THE FISH 

it will be seen that there are not too many. It is a very- 
easy matter to obtain the skeleton of a fish by boiling one 
thoroughly ; the flesh can then be picked away, leaving 
the skeleton lying on its side very much after the fashion 
of the one shown. 

The fish is a backboned animal, its skeleton being made 
up of a number of bones joined one to the other. On tak- 
ing up one, it is seen to be cuplike on each side, and to 
have several spinelike projections. Those extending down- 
ward, sharp and slender, are ribs (Fig. i, r)\ those pro- 
jecting upward are spines to hold the flesh firm. On the 
top of each of these joints, or vertebrae, will be noticed an 
arch or a ring. These rings protect the spinal cord, which 
extends from the tail to the head, where, enlarged, it be- 
comes the brain. As fishes have backbones, they are 
included with the other backboned animals in the great 
branch of the animal kingdom known as vertebrates. 

If we examine the skeleton carefully, and then make a 
drawing of it, it will be seen that the fish has many pecul- 
iarities common to other animals. The fins (Fig. i>p) on 
each side are the fore limbs of the fish, corresponding to the 
wings of birds, the fore feet of the elephant, and the arms 
of man. One would hardly expect to find the hind limbs 
so near the front pair, yet they are represented by the often 
almost immovable ventral fins (Fig. i, v). So the fish has 
four limbs, but being a water animal its fins are adapted 
by nature for use in this element. Observe the numerous 
fingers or rays of each fore fin. They constitute the 
framework of the hand of the fish, are connected by a 
web, and so become paddles or fins like the blade of an 
oar, powerful organs of locomotion. 



THE FRAME OF THE FISH It 

These pectoral fins, as they are called, are not merely 
"oars " by which the fish rows itself along, but they are 
also balancers, like the wings of birds. The fins which 
aid in giving the fish an upright position are the dorsal 
fins, and these are attached to a series of spines, which, 
from their number, resemble a second backbone. This 
top or dorsal fin, or balancer, is sometimes continuous 
from head to tail, as in the ribbon fish ; sometimes it is 
in two sections, as in the perch, in which case the last 
is called the second dorsal. 

In nearly all fishes the dorsal fin can be raised or de- 
pressed at will, and in the perch or rock bass it is a very 
expressive organ, as when the fish is alarmed or excited 
the fin stands erect and threatening and gives the fish an 
aggressive appearance. In the horse mackerel it can be 
lowered out of sight into a perfect scabbard. In the angel 
fishes its rays are long, plumelike objects, and in the rib- 
bon fish, as bright scarlet pompons, that rise near the 
head and turn backward in graceful curves. Beneath 
the second dorsal fin we find another balancer, the anal 
fin with its rays and spines. 

The fore arms are important locomotive organs in some 
fishes, as the sheepshead, in which they can be seen to wave 
regularly as the fish swims. The little sea horse also 
employs them and its dorsal fin in locomotion ; but in the 
large mackerel, the bonito, and the great majority of fishes 
these fins are of little use except as balancers. In the 
horse mackerel they fit into depressions in the skin. In 
nearly all fishes the tail is an important locomotive organ. 
It is a broom-shaped series of rays, the backbone repre- 
senting the handle and the spines the straws. In the 



12 



THE FRAME OF THE FISH 



perch the tail is made up of an upper and lower blade 
of compact spines, which in the living fish are connected 
and webbed, forming a powerful organ, a perfect pro- 
peller which, in the case of the flying fish, with a screw- 
like twist hurls it into the air, and enables the active 
horse mackerel to take marvelous leaps. The tail is one 
of the most interesting organs of fishes, and it is well to 
note the remarkable difference in shape in various fishes. 

Perhaps the most 
singular is that of 
the sunfish (Fig. 2), 
which appears to 
be a mere rim of 
flesh; yet I have 
seen this fin twisted 
with a powerful 
screwlike motion, 
forcing the fish 
along. In some 
fishes the lobes are 
equal, as in the 
perch ; but in the 
Californian flying fish the lower lobe is the longer; in 
the sturgeon it is the upper lobe, the backbone extending 
out into it, as in fishes that lived in the very early days 
of the world. Each fin has its peculiar office, the dorsals 
and anals being centerboards or upright balancers to pre- 
serve the equilibrium of the fish. The pectorals or side 
limbs are balancers and locomotive organs, — actual feet 
in the case of the fish Periophthalmus (Fig. 39). The 
caudal fin or tail is a propeller and balancer, while the 




Fig. 2. — Sunfish. 



THE FRAME OF THE FISH 



13 



hind legs or ventral fins, often immovable, are also bal- 
ancers, or used as rests when on the bottom, or creepers, 
as in some sculpins, or suckers, as in the lumpfish and 
others. 

The head or skull of the fish is made up of a compli- 
cated series of bones. The ear is internal, and over the 
mouth are found the nostrils ; but the fishes can not 
breathe through them, as dogs and other animals can. 
They are for smelling alone, aiding the fish in discovering 
its prey. The orifices for the eyes are often large ; the 
mouth is capacious, and in many instances capable of 
great distention. Around the jaws are the teeth. In 
the perch, the mackerel, and many fishes, they are very 
minute ; in others, as the shark, in rows of twelve or more, 
all the rows except the outer being movable, so that when 
not in use they lie flat. Each tooth, in most species, has 
sawlike edges. 

The teeth of fishes display a wonderful variety. Some, 
as in the Californian sheepshead and the hogfish, resemble 
those of a sheep, and project outward. Others, as in the 
great sunfish, form several long or ivorylike biting organs. 
The parrot fishes have veritable beaks. 
The rays have crushers; the morays 
have fanglike teeth, recalling the 
snakes, while some low forms, like the 
lamprey eel, have a mouth which is a 
mere sucker (Fig. 3). The heads of 
fishes present remarkable variations in 
the different kinds. In the Vomer, angel fishes, and 
others, it is very large in proportion to the body (Fig. 4), 
while the mouth is small. In the swordfish the upper jaw 




Fig. 3. — Mouth of 
Lamprey Eel. 



14 THE FRAME OF THE FISH 

is developed into a long mandible or sword, which can be 
thrust through the oaken sides of a ship. In the garfish 
both jaws are long, and armed with fine teeth. The upper 
jaw of the paddlefish is a spatula-shaped object. That 




Fig. 4. — Lamprey clinging to a Rock. 

of the sawfish is a veritable saw, while the little Belone 
has its lower jaw elongated for some unknown purpose, 
and the snipefish has its mouth at the end of a long tube. 
A conspicuous feature of the head is what we may call 
the cheek, really the gill cover, a movable series of bones 
which cover and protect the gills (Fig. 6). 

Such, briefly described, is the frame of the fish. When 
clothed in the skin and fresh from the water the bones are 
concealed, the only suggestion being the rays which, cov- 
ered with a delicate integument and connected by a web 
of flesh, appear in the fins. They look like delicate radi- 
ations or branches. The observer is first attracted by the 
scales which cover the fish, overlapping one another like 
shingles on a roof, forming a perfect armament. They 
appear to grow out of little pockets very much like finger 
nails. The peculiar slime with which fishes are covered 
exudes from beneath the scales, while a dark line which 
extends on both sides of the fish from head to tail, indi- 



A LIVING MACHINE 



15 



cates larger scales which are special lubricators or slime 
producers. 

The scales of fishes, like the feathers of birds, give them 
beauty and their wealth of color (Fig. 5). In many they 
are of dazzling silver below, and blue or green above. 




Fig. 5. —Scales. 




In the tarpon the scale is larger than a silver dollar, and 
has the appearance of molten silver. In the fresh-water 
garfish the scale resembles a china or flint plate. In the 
mackerel family they are very minute, while in the shark 
no trace of scales is seen, the animal being enveloped in a 
thick skin resembling sandpaper to the touch. 



A LIVING MACHINE 

If fishes are carefully watched in an aquarium, the 

cheek (Fig. 6) or gill cover, is seen rising and falling 

gently, while the mouth is kept slightly 

open. If one is taken from the water, 

this motion increases ; the mouth opens 

in gasps, and the gill cover gapes 

wide, showing the red gills or lungs 

of the fish. At such times fishes un- FlG - 6 - — HEAD OF A 

Fish, showing Gill 

doubtedly suffer. Cover. 




i6 



A LIVING MACHINE 




Fig. 7. —Gills of a Fish. 



This gentle opening and closing of the gill cover is the 
breathing motion of the fish, and may be compared to 

the rise and fall of the 
chest in human beings. 
The chest expands as 
we take air into the 
lungs, and the gill 
covers rise as water, 
laden with air, passes 
from the mouth to the 
gill chamber. By lift- 
ing the gill cover, the 
gills (Fig. 7) can be 
seen — long slits with rough-toothed edges, to which are 
attached folds of vivid red flesh. The color is caused 
by innumerable blood vessels which permeate it and lie 
near the surface. The gills occupy a little room, its 
roof, the gill cover, and its doors, the gill opening and 
the mouth. In birds and other higher animals air is taken 
into the mouth and nostrils, reaching the lungs directly ; 
but the fishes, though air is necessary, do not require so 
much, and take delicate globules from the water. When 
the air supply in the water is exhausted, the fish dies. 
The fish in an aquarium rises to the surface, gasps, and 
shows its distress. Now, if air is forced beneath the 
surface, it immediately recovers. 

To obtain air, the fish inhales water continually through 
the mouth and forces it in a never ending flow over the 
red gills and out at the gill openings ; so there is a con- 
stant stream flowing into what may be called the gill 
room. Now what occurs ? In answer glance at the 



A LIVING MACHINE 



17 



specimen, if one is at hand, or in default, at a drawing 
(Fig. 8). Here all the principal organs are seen. The 
one intimately connected with breathing is the heart, c, 
which is a marvelous pump, forcing the blood through 
various channels to the gills, bt, where it comes in contact 
with the air-laden water, absorbs the oxygen or air, and is 
purified or freshened. The fish takes air and water in at 
the mouth and its heart pumps the blood to the gills to 




Fig. 8. —Anatomy of a Fish. 

meet it, so that there is a constant flow of purified blood 
passing through the fish. 

If it were possible to see the heart beat, it would be 
noticed that its motion is much more deliberate than that 
of the human heart. This is because the latter is a 
powerful four-chambered organ, while the heart of the 
fish possesses but two chambers, and forces the blood 
through the veins and arteries very slowly. The temper- 
ature of the blood, in consequence, falls very low in both 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 2 



1 8 A LIVING MACHINE 

reptiles and fishes, in striking contrast to the rapid circu- 
lation in man and other mammals. 

Watching a fish poised in its native element, rising or 
falling with the greatest ease, the observer may wonder 
that it does not sink, realizing that it is heavier than the 
water. The reason for its apparent buoyancy lies in a 
provision of nature, — a veritable balloon possessed by 
fishes, which so adjusts their specific gravity that they 
float with the least exertion. This balloon of the fishes is 
called the air bladder, and is a long, silvery tube readily 
found and recognized (Fig. 8, vn). This balloon is filled 
principally with nitrogen in fresh-water fishes, and mainly 
with oxygen in the salt-water forms, and the gas can be 
increased or diminished as occasion demands, the air 
bladder having an opening into the intestine in some 
fishes. The balloonlike air bladder is generally located 
between the backbone and the intestines ; it varies in 
shape and size in the different varieties, and is entirely 
absent in some. The rays and sharks, which as a rule 
live on the bottom, have no air bladders. 

This singular organ has another even more remarkable 
office, namely, that of a lung, enabling such fishes as the 
Amia and Polypterus to live out of water. In the fish last 
named, the air bladder opens into the throat or esophagus 
and is covered with blood vessels which take up oxygen 
directly. By this means the climbing perch (Fig. 37) 
migrates overland. The Periophthalmus (Fig. 40) wan- 
ders along the dry shore in search of food, breathing in 
the open air by the means of this wonderful organ, which 
in the water is an air bladder and out of it a lung or 
breathing organ. 



A LIVING MACHINE 19 

The~brain of fishes is very small and their intelligence is 
to a certain extent limited. The spinal cord extends from 
the tail, with many branches to fins and other organs, 
passing through the arches of the backbone to the skull, 
where it enlarges and finds protection as the brain. 
Nerves pass from it to the eye and various other organs. 

The eye is an interesting organ, ranging from a large 
and singularly beautiful object in the fishes of the open 
sea to the minute and almost useless white dot in the blind 
fishes of caves. The ears are internal, yet the fishes hear 
distinctly, and it is supposed that the air bladder has still 
another office, that of aiding in increasing the sound 
waves — in brief, making the hearing of the fish more 
acute. 

The chamber of the ear proper contains in some fishes 
little bodies called otoliths. Sometimes these are simple 
chalklike bodies, but those taken by me from the Cali- 
fornian grouper were found on each side of the brain 
and were really beautiful objects, opal-hued and highly 
polished, and very hard like stones. They were fringed 
or serrated, and each was a little over an inch in length. 
They are the " lucky stones "' of fishermen, very few of 
whom know that they have any connection with the ear 
of the fish. 

Among fishes the pursuit and capture of prey appears 
to be the chief object in life, and to enable them to ac- 
complish it, nature has given them an arrow-shaped body, 
easily propelled through the water, powerful fins as loco- 
motive organs, bright eyes to see their prey, and teeth or 
crushing jaws to seize and hold it. In the pursuit of 
food many fishes display the greatest voracity. I have 



20 • 



A LIVING MACHINE 




stood in water knee deep in Florida and seized " jacks," 
a large fish allied to the mackerel, and thrown them on 

the beach where 
others had leaped 
in their excite- 
ment. They were 
feeding upon sar- 
dines and were 
oblivious of my 
presence. Some, 
as the mackerel, 
bluefish, sharks, 
and others, are 
wandering hunt- 
ers. Others, as 
the great Lophius 
(Fig. 9), crouch 
upon the bottom. The active tuna leaps into the air and 
often strikes its prey, a flying fish, in mid air. The 




Fig. 9. — The Angler {Lophius) . 




Fig. 10. — The Sturgeon. 



sturgeons (Fig. 10) suck their food into their mouths, 
while the rays crush it. 

Fishes do not chew or prepare their food. They tear 
off small portions or devour it whole, while the fishes 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES 21 

of prey swallow their victims alive. One of the most 
remarkable of fishes is the black swallower that devours 
fishes five times its own weight, its abdomen expanding 
like an enormous pouch, while the jaws are capable of 
great distention. Food so captured is swallowed with no 
preparation, and the amount which fishes will eat is 
almost beyond belief. It passes into the stomach and is 
there digested very rapidly and becomes the fuel of this 
wonderful living machine ; the nutritive portions are 
absorbed and go to replenish blood, bone,' and tissue. 

Undoubtedly fishes suffer pain when injured, and it 
is manifestly cruel to subject them to useless agony. 
The sharks suffer the least, and a large one has been 
observed to feed when repeatedly cut through the head 
with a lance. Some of the large game fishes repeatedly 
take the hook. I once hooked a yellowtail twice within 
twenty minutes, the fish at the time bearing several hooks 
which it had taken within a week from various anglers. 
In this instance the jaws of the fish, though lacerated, 
probably gave it little inconvenience. On the other hand, 
fishes like the sardine, anchovy, and the beautiful ribbon 
fish are so sensitive that the slightest wound undoubtedly 
causes them pain and often kills them. 

THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES 

The movements of fishes, their singular changes from 
fresh to salt water, from deep to shallow, is an interesting 
and absorbing study. Certain fishes are adapted for life 
in fresh water and inhabit streams, rivers, and land- 
locked lakes ; others have originally been salt-water forms 



22 THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES 

and have adopted the fresh-water life from choice, while 
many more change from salt to fresh water at certain 
seasons with marked regularity. The salmon (Fig. n) 
lives in the sea a portion of the year, then runs hundreds 
of miles up fresh-water rivers to deposit its spawn. So 
with the shad, that is found along the shores of the 
South Atlantic States in winter, and in the rivers of the 
North at the approach of spring. Sharks are supposed to 



Fig. ii. —The Salmon. 
L, lateral line. 

be strictly salt-water animals, yet one form is found in the 
lakes of the Fiji Islands and in Lake Nicaragua. 

Fishes have found their way over the entire globe, 
wherever man has reached. Within the borders of the 
Arctic Circle there are fishes adapted to the intense cold, 
while the rivers of all tropical countries swarm with their 
finny populations. How fishes reach high altitudes and 
mountain pools is often a mystery ; but trout and salmon 
have remarkable jumping power, and clear dams and 
falls that are seemingly impassable. A trout has been 
seen to pass up a spout of water that was issuing from a 
knot hole in a dam ; and salmon make extraordinary 
jumps, so passing from pool to pool. 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES 23 

Inland and land-locked lakes are provided with fish in 
various ways. Fish spawn is carried in by birds, raised 
aloft by water and wind spouts and borne along for miles, 
then dropped to populate mysteriously a lake or pond that 
has been devoid of life. Fishes make their way up large 
rivers, follow the branches, and at periods of overflow, as 
in the Amazon, pass over miles of country, and reach 
depressions that are but lakes at other seasons. In this 
manner the world has been provided with a marvelous 
assortment of fishes, their geographical distribution being 



Fig. 12. — Blind Cave Fish. 

almost complete. They appear in the strangest places. 
In the Philippines, there are fishes which hop along 
the shore like frogs, even refusing to take to the water 
when followed, preferring the muddy flats. Some live in 
the deep sea, where the water is just above freezing and 
the pressure is enormous. Others affect an intermediate 
region, others again live in the mud of the shallows like the 
hogs ; others again burrow in the sand, as the flounder ; 
while many more are essentially surface forms, as the 
garfish and flying fish, never venturing below the surface 
and leaving the water when followed, rather than seek 
safety in the greater depths. 



24 THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES 

Certain fishes, having discovered the deep pools of caves, 
have remained in them and become adapted to the sin- 
gular surroundings, and are now ghostly, almost eyeless 
creatures (Fig. 12). A very interesting example of this is 
the little fish Lucifuga, of the caves of Cuba. Its nearest 
relative is a salt-water fish found commonly in the Indian 
Ocean. The sightless cave fish was perhaps at one time 
a swimmer in the ocean, but was raised above its home 
when Cuba was thrust upward, and gradually changed, 
until to-day it is the solitary fish of its kind. 

In the Southern States many of the subterranean rivers 
abound in fishes, and in Africa they have been taken from 
the deepest wells. There is hardly a region in the great 
world of the ocean not populated. There are the stay-at- 
homes in the tropics, wonderfully colored fishes which live 
about the coral banks from year to year, and the ramblers, 
as the bluefish, which move in vast schools from place to 
place. In this class are many of the best-known fishes. 
They school or congregate in vast numbers and move, a 
devastating army, preying upon smaller fry. The dogfish, 
a small shark, schools in the same way and often sweeps 
in from the deep sea in summer, a starving horde which 
carries all before it. I was fishing off the Maine coast, 
one August, when these voracious creatures appeared. 
One day cod, hake, and other fishes were plentiful off 
the banks, and the men made large hauls ; the follow- 
ing morning, in the same spot, not a fish could be 
found. . The water was filled with a throng of starving 
dogfishes which devoured everything. They even bit at 
the oars, and a sail which had been dragging overboard 
was lacerated by their teeth, 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 25 

Many fishes prefer brackish water. Fishes have been 
founcfin water intensely salt, and some forms have been 
discovered in hot springs where the temperature of the 
water was 114 and 122 Fahrenheit. 

THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 

While explorers are penetrating Darkest Africa, and 
attempting to reach the north and south poles, others are 
with equal interest trying to probe the caves and depres- 
sions of the deep sea, — the vast mysterious region that 
comprises nearly three fourths of the earth's surface. Its 
waves beat on every shore ; its menace comes with every 
wind that blows, man crosses it, lives upon it ; yet to-day 
it is the one region on the globe which really defies him ; 
the one world which he is forced to acknowledge at the 
onset he can not enter. The very depth of the sea is a 
barrier unsurmountable. Two hundred feet is the limit of 
possible endurance of the skilled diver; yet beyond are 
six, possibly seven, miles of water, comprising the realm 
of the deep sea ; a region as fascinating and alluring to 
the zoologist as the pole has been to geographers. The 
very fact that the greater depths are unattainable has 
spurred men on to surmount the difficulties and to devise 
methods to wrest the secrets from the deep. 

At the beginning of the past century the deep sea was 
comparatively unknown. I well remember when Agassiz 
the elder, with my father, dredged in Massachusetts Bay 
and considered the results in one hundred and fifty feet 
of water remarkable. That man could reach the greater 
depths was not believed possible, and in a general way it 



26 THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 

may be said that all that has been learned of the ocean 
bed, and particularly of its inhabitants, has been discov- 
ered within the last third of a century. As has been 
seen, diving was impossible. The diving bell was one of 
the first inventions, and it was supposed that this would 
enable man to descend to a great distance ; but the pres- 
sure of the water, which amounts to fifteen pounds to the 
square inch at the surface, rapidly increases as one de- 
scends, being equal to a ton weight upon every square 
inch of surface for about every mile of descent. It was 
soon found that it would be impossible to invent armor to 
withstand this pressure, and the inventive genius of man 
was now directed to dredges with which to trap the deni- 
zens of the ocean. 

America, England, Germany, France, Italy, and Sweden 
were among the first to send out ships to explore the deep 
sea. The work of the Albatross is well known. The 
Challenger, of England, made the tour of the world to map 
the deep sea, and magnificent volumes have been issued — 
the simple story of this voyage alone, the combined results 
of the investigations of the naturalists of the world to 
whom the specimens were consigned. Italy sent out sev- 
eral ships, France the Traveler, and there have been 
many more. Space will not permit a description of the 
methods of work, and it is sufficient to say that the dredge 
is the instrument used — a machine like a huge bag, 
twenty feet or more in width, and as many in depth ; the 
mouth held out by a boom which rests upon the bottom. 
This drag net, or dredge, is lowered overboard by a small 
cable wire, and to it are attached various instruments to 
test the depth, density, and temperature of the ocean. To 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 27 

lower so cumbersome an instrument is in itself a problem, 
and often to obtain the greatest depth several hours are 
required, and then it is often difficult to determine whether 
bottom is reached. 

Assuming this is accomplished, what chance has the 
dredge to perform its work ? Imagine the possible inhabit- 
ants of Mars to have solved the problem of crossing space 
between them and the earth. They reach with their bal- 
loon within seven miles of the surface of the earth and 
plainly see cities and other large objects ; but they find 
that the atmosphere is too dense to enable them to de- 
scend. Yet their mission is to take away some of the 
inhabitants of the earth. They lower from their balloon 
a dredge, attached to a wire eight or ten miles long, which 
they slowly drag over the fields of the earth several hours 
before it is hoisted up. It is very evident that the rabbits, 
birds, and all the active animals will easily evade this 
clumsy trap, and all that are caught are earthworms, 
plants, a turtle perhaps, and an assortment of animals 
which could not move out of the track of the dredge. In 
a word, dredging is very discouraging work, and well illus- 
trates the chances which the modern naturalist has of 
making an adequate study of the life of the deep sea. 
The dredge is dragged along the bottom of this unknown 
land beneath the sea, up the sides of hills, over plains, 
plowing through the mud, naturally capturing only those 
forms which are concealed in the ooze and are too slug- 
gish to escape ; yet by these crude appliances all that is 
known of the deep sea has come to us, the specimens 
are few in numbers, comparatively speaking, but so re- 
markable as to make this department of zoology one 



28 THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 

of the most interesting and important at the present 
day. 

Before referring to the results of these investigations 
a glance may be taken at the ocean bed to note how care- 
fully it has been mapped by the various expeditions. The 
ocean is before us day after day, hence its beauty or its 
meaning is not always appreciated; but the murmur in the 
sea shell, the booming of the waves, the wild crash of the 
surf on hidden rocks, are the voices of the deep sea, full 
of poetry, full of mystery ; telling of this world of the 
abysmal sea. 

It is a marvelous, incomprehensible thing, this ocean. 
It is nearly three miles deep on an average ; so very deep 
in places that it is ten miles from the top of the highest 
mountain to the bottom of the deepest cave or abyss that 
ocean bears. I once crawled into the dry bed of a subter- 
ranean river, three miles beneath the outside world ; when 
in the last tunnel, which was fifteen feet across and two 
hundred feet high, the guide blew out the light that ab- 
solute darkness might be realized. The deep sea, six miles 
from the surface, is, in places if possible, darker than this. 
At a depth of three or four hundred fathoms plant life 
ceases, which means that sunlight is exhausted. I once 
attempted to descend the face of a perpendicular coral 
cliff, on the Florida reef, to determine, if possible, how 
deep the coral grew. Holding a heavy weight in my 
hand, I allowed it to drag me down rapidly. I could at 
the time remain under water over a minute, and estimated 
that I could descend thirty feet in safety. At the word 
the men released the weight and I was dragged downward, 
but parted company with the weight before I had reached 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 29 

thirty feet. I well recall the disagreeable sensation of the 
marvelously rapid loss of sunlight, and the sudden cold' at 
even twenty feet. 

The deep sea is a realm of silence so profound that 
the mind can not realize it. It is also intensely cold, vary- 
ing from one degree below freezing to several degrees 
above. That life, and prolific life, can exist in such a re- 
gion does not seem possible ; yet there is every reason to 
believe that every mile, every acre, of this weird region is 
inhabited. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the 
ocean is its depth; only about seven tenths of its total 
area is under six hundred feet deep ; of the rest sixty-two 
per cent is over two and a half miles ; and there are 
nearly fifty places known where the water is more than 
three miles deep, and many where it is four and five. It 
has remained for an American to find an abyss, off the 
coast of Guam, 5260 fathoms deep; and from this dark 
recess, ten miles below the summit of Mount Everest, life 
has been taken. 

Up to within a few years it was supposed that when 
the deep sea was explored early forms of life would be 
found ; but the consensus of opinion to-day is, that the 
animals are those which have been driven by enemies, 
or by the force of circumstances, into the depths and 
there adapted to the strange conditions, and that they 
are more or less degenerate forms. The abyssal regions 
of the ocean, the regions of greatest depth, cover seven 
million square miles of the ocean bed, and all are named, 
as are our deserts on land. Thus the Sigsbee Deep indi- 
cates a vast depression south of Nova Scotia ; the Aldrich 
Deep one east of New Zealand ; the Ross Deep the vast 



30 THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 

Antarctic depression. There is no law relating to their 
situation ; they occur everywhere. In descending into 
the ocean the area within six hundred miles of land is, 
as a rule, more or less affected by it; gravels washed 
from rivers being commonly dredged, as the bed descends 
or drops away. Beyond this depth the dredge finds clay 
and mud — red, blue, and green — made up of minute 
shells, the remains of countless millions of animals, the 
famous Radiolarian ooze, the ooze of the diatom, the 
quicksand of the deep sea. Beyond this, on the slopes 
of the deeps, from two to five miles, the dredge shows 
that the shells have been dissolved, and the floor of 
the oQean — certainly one half of the entire expanse — is 
covered with a soft red clay, composed of the wreckage 
of meteors, pumice from submarine volcanoes and cosmic 
dust. Vertically the ocean is divided by Agassiz into three 
zones: first, that of two hundred fathoms — theoretically 
the belt of sunlight; second, the azoic — a belt of dark- 
ness ; third, the deep sea, into which in imagination the 
reader may descend. 

He may well believe that the inhabitants of so peculiar 
a region must be peculiar in themselves, and it may be 
said that nature, in adapting these animals to their en- 
vironment, has produced forms which defy adequate de- 
scription, so weird and grotesque are they. It would be 
impossible in the limited space to mention more than a 
few of the types, but there is one feature which amazes 
the scientific investigator and challenges the attention 
of the layman ; that is, the illumination of the deep and 
sunless sea. Almost all of its animals are light givers, 
living lamps, flashlights of the deep ; fishes provided with 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 31 

a wonderful system of illumination. The reader may well 
ask, how can delicate fishes withstand the enormous pres- 
sure? Nature has changed the deep-sea fishes into seem- 
ing living sponges ; in a word, the water permeates their 
entire system. The bones are so loosely connected that 
it is almost impossible to lift one of these fishes without its 
dropping to pieces. The bones are cavernous and fissured, 
filled with holes and crevices ; a pin can be thrust into 
them anywhere, and the slightest movement will bend 
them. The muscles are thin and weak, and the fish is 
apparently a perfect sponge, offering little or no resistance 
to the water bearing upon it from all sides. 

The imaginary observer may well be fascinated by the 
weird forms of fishes which swim by, or lie partly buried 
in the ooze. Nearly all are light givers. Some are ablaze 
over their entire surface ; others have eyes of seeming fire ; 
in others, again, the light flashes from barbels, decoys, 
signals, and reflectors, which, in tints of green, orange, 
and yellow, cover the bottom of the deep sea. Beyond, 
a cloud of light takes shape in which hover multitudes 
of luminous fishes, many of which possess a system of 
illumination of two distinct kinds and of a marvelous 
nature. A long eel-like shark swims by, followed' by 
another, equally strange. They are, particularly the latter, 
ablaze with light from head to tail. Its existence is not 
mere theory, as several specimens have been brought to 
the surface, notably by Agassiz and Bennett. The latter 
says : " The entire anterior surfaces of the body emitted a 
vivid and greenish phosphorescent gleam, imparting to the 
creature by its own light a truly ghastly and terrific 
appearance." 



32 THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 

Nearly all of the large fishes possess a peculiar mucilag- 
inous system supposed to be the seat of this light. The 
wildest flight of the imagination fails to conjure up more 
remarkable creations than the grotesque figures which 
glide by, project from the ooze, or, startled by the intruder, 
dart into it. Many of these fishes, which are not lumi- 
nous over their entire bodies, have a system of lights, 
lures, lanterns, and flashlights of various colors and shapes, 
all taking the form of special organs. Sometimes they 
are merely lights or signals by which the fish may be 
recognized by their fellows ; and again, as in the case of 
the fish Ipnops, the flashlights fairly cover the head, form- 
ing two reflectors, which are also eyes, or their equiv- 
alent. With such an array of lights, enabling the fish 
not only to envelop its prey in its light, but to throw a 
halo about it, and also see it, what imagination can pic- 
ture the scene when two of these living reflectors are 
chasing and surrounding a victim ? Pursued by enemies 
so equipped, escape would seem impossible. The witness 
of these marvels, were he a careful observer, would note 
that the lures are of different colors ; that in some they 
imitate some small animal wriggling and coiling, and 
emit a flashing tremulous light, and attached to perfect 
fishing rods on the back of some veritable monster con- 
cealed in the ooze. 

Out of the gloom comes a strange light giver — the cul- 
mination of nature's efforts, apparently, in the direction of 
the flashlights, as this fish has four lights which undoubt- 
edly assist it to capture its prey. Two of these lights are 
above, and two below, the upper emitting a yellow or 
orange-colored light, while the lower, just over the mouth, 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 33 

glow with green tints — a strange disposition enabling 
Malacosteus not only to throw searchlights around its 
victims, but to lure them within reach of its terrible fang- 
like teeth by the display of various colored gleams. 

The Stomias, with its ferocious, dragonlike head and 
teeth, has rows of flashlights along its lower surface, which 
mark it in golden lines against the dark background. 
The hideous, almost square-shaped Sternoptyx floats by, 
with twenty or more flashlights along its lower surface; 
three higher up and three higher still, like the open port- 
holes of a ship, from which fitful gleams are streaming. 
Argyropelecus (Fig. 15) is ablaze with lights, which 
cover its lower surface, and the same is true of a host of 
others. Long, eel-like fishes, with enormous mouths, swim 
by. The mouth opens downward, and is filled with re- 
curved fangs, and from the lower jaw depend several 
tangles or lures, which being luminous possibly attract vic- 
tims from below, while in double rows all alon^ the slender 
body are seeming countless pearls, each a reflector of the 
mysterious light. 

The array of fishes with lights placed in different posi- 
tions is amazing. One has them dotted over its sides; 
another has three blazing on its cheek, three long ones on 
the under jaw, while in the blunt-headed Diaphus the three 
lower head lights are of large size and throw the gleams 
downward. 

If these are remarkable, what can be said of the school 
now passing by (Fig. 13)! One strange fish has lights 
along its sides, and the entire front of the head seems 
to be a flashlight, or reflector, which throws the blaze 
of light directly ahead, after the fashion of a locomotive. 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 3 



34 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 




THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 35 

Following it, in the glare of its own light, comes another 
fish, with its enormous mouth filled with fangs, while a 
group of mud lovers slink away from another terrible 
creature as it swims by, dangling a bulb of light from its 
lower jaw. A group of fishes which can not fail to attract 
attention have mouths so enormous that they can swallow 
a victim half as large as themselves. 

Every step taken in the ooze, which here and there emits 
a greenish spectral light, startles fishes which live in or. 
about it. One seems all mouth, literally a living sack 
(Fig. 13, 4) which lies in the mud engulfing its prey. An- 
other illustrates the perfection of mimetic mechanical appli- 
ances ; its enormous mouth opens upward. At the surface 
of the ooze and directly over the fish, by the aid of a long 
fishing rod, dangles a bulb, or bait, that is phosphorescent 
and made to simulate a living worm, or some small crusta- 
cean. But the most extraordinary sight, perhaps, to be 
witnessed here, is that of the electric bulb fish. It is 
a shapeless horror. Its mouth, which is a third of its 
entire extent, is armed with teeth of extraordinary length. 
From the tip of the upper jaw rises a perfect electric bulb 
so far as appearances go. This is a lure perfect for its 
work, emitting a bright light, and standing above the mud 
in which the fish is totally concealed. Over the bottom 
these green lights are scattered, far and near, exemplifying 
the most extravagant efforts of nature in the direction of 
illuminated fishes. Another remarkable and grotesque 
fish has a mouth which opens back a third of its length 
and is armed with a luminous bait. Its side or pectoral 
fins are placed far back, near the tail, while two fins, 
longer than the entire body, rise from above and below. 



36 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 



As if this were not enough to mark this fish unique, it is 
supplied with wormlike, light-emitting barbels of flesh, 
which rise from its head, back, and sides — effective lures, 
if such is the intention of nature. 




Fig. 14. — A Luminous Fish. 

Many of these fishes are covered with a peculiar 
mucus, and nearly all have simple colors — black or sil- 
very. Many are dotted along the lower surface, upon 
their sides, and upon the head near the eyes with singular 

^_____ ^ spots like mother-of-pearl (Fig. 14). 

Some, especially those on the head, 
are elliptical in shape ; others are 
globular (Fig. 15), and all are sup- 
posed by some naturalists to be 
luminous organs, while others are 
believed to be organs of vision to 
aid the fish in seeing in these dark 
depths of the sea. 
A remarkable small-eyed, deep-sea fish is the Bathy- 
ophis, which has no common name and is rarely seen. 
Its home is a mile or more beneath the surface. Its 




Fig. 15. — Light-emitting 
Organ of a Fish. 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 37 

eyes are so small that they can scarcely be seen. It is 
like a blind man groping in the dark; its canes two 
slender feelers almost as long as the fish, rays of the 
side or pectoral fins having at their tips delicate sense 
organs or feelers. When the fish swims, they are trailed 




Fig. 16. — Group of Light Givers. 

behind, but they can be thrown forward to investigate the 
ground as it advances. The ventral fins also bear two 
long feelers. 

These singular " fingers" are found in various places; 
thus, Eustomias, a hideous black creature, has a very 
long finger, pendent from its lower jaw, which it uses in 



38 THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 

its search for food eight or nine thousand feet from the 
surface. Stomias, another form, with dragonlike head 
and fierce teeth, has a short-branched, fingerlike ten- 
tacle hanging from its lower jaw, and rows of gleaming 
lights along its entire lower surface. From the depth of 




Fig. 17. — The Pelican Fish. 

two miles the naturalists of the Challenger took the fish 
Bythites, and from three miles still another form, while 
the Albatross has secured equally interesting fishes seven- 
teen thousand feet below the surface of the sea. 

The lights with which these fishes are provided to 
enable them to secure their prey in a region of the deepest 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 39 

darkness, are among the most wonderful provisions of 
nature, showing that everywhere animal life is adapted to 
its peculiar surroundings. The large black velvet-hued fish 
Echiostoma has two lights just below its eyes.- The little 
fish Sternoptyx (Fig. 16), when it first came up in the 
dredge, gleamed like a coal of fire, the light being dis- 
tinctly seen by the German naturalist, Dr. Suhm. I have 
before me several remarkable little light-giving fishes 
which I found at the Island of Santa Catalina, California, 
where they were washed up by a storm. Light has been 
seen to gleam from the large phosphorescent spot near 




rap 

Fig. 18. —The Mackerel. 



the eye of this fish, which resembles Figure 15. This spot 
is supposed by some to possess the properties of an eye 
and a light-giving organ. The light is believed to be pro- 
duced at the bottom of the back chamber of the organ 
and distributed in many directions ; in other words, after 
the fashion of the convex glass of a bull's-eye lantern. 

Besides the luminous organs on the head of Sternop- 
tyx, whose mouth is so large that it stretches from "ear to 
ear," it has thirty-three "light spots" along the lower 
surface, facing downward : six in front of the ventral fins, 
six more between the ventrals and the anal, and twenty- 
one between the front of the anal fin and the base of the 



40 THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 

tail, — enough, if all are luminous, to mark the little crea- 
ture as a blaze of light against the water. 

Many of the deep-sea forms have enormous mouths, 
and literally haul themselves over their prey as a glove is 
drawn on the hand. Such an one is the black swallower, 
Chiasmodus (Fig. 13) that has been found with a fish in 
its stomach several times larger than the swallower itself, 
due to the remarkable expansion of the saclike stomach. 

The large-mouthed forms find their most remarkable 
example in the pelican fish (Fig. 17), that is almost liter- 
ally all mouth. It was taken from the bottom of the sea 
in seven thousand feet of water, and undoubtedly feeds by 
swimming along and blindly engulfing all the animals in 
its path. None of these fishes have common names. The 
fish Chauliodus (Fig. 13) is a fierce and ravenous creature. 
Bathyophis resembles a salmon, but has wonderful feel- 
ers, which it throws out ahead — sense organs of some 
kind. The strange Dibranchus simulates a moss-covered 
rock, as it crouches in the ooze. Over its upper lip is a 
small light or lure, which attracts prey to the monster. 
Other strange fishes are Cyclothone, with mouth filled 
with fangs, Astronesthes, with a bulb like that of an 
electric light dangling from its lower jaw ; but more won- 
derful than all is Linophryne, a shapeless horror, fairly 
cut in two for a third of its length by its mouth, which is 
armed with fanglike teeth of extraordinary proportions. 
From the lip of the upper jaw rises a bulb of light — so 
far as appearances go, an electric bulb. This fish un- 
doubtedly hides in the ooze or mud, with the bulb of light 
gleaming above it, attracting prey, which is suddenly 
pounced upon. 



THE LIGHT BEARERS OF THE DEEP SEA 41 

The most vivid imagination fails to depict creatures 
which equal the simplest animals of this weird region, 
ranging as they do from the splendid Malacosteus with 
its many colored lights to the strange two-horned angler, 
with- enormous head, small eyes, and feetlike fins, which 
throws forward a jointed rod as long as its body, on the 
end of which is a blazing lure. Small fry approach this 
bait, which is gradually lifted, until they are over the 
cavernous mouth, which suddenly opens and engulfs 
them. 

The reader will wonder how these fishes, four or five 
miles down, obtain air. The fishes at the surface are 
provided with oxygen by storms and wind which beat 
the water into foam, so aerating it or forcing glob- 
ules of air downward. But such an explanation will 
not apply to the deep sea ; the surface storm is not felt 
even a thousand feet from the surface. It is believed 
that a very sluggish current creeps along the bottom 
of the ocean from the poles to the equator, there rising 
to return again at the surface, and it is supposed that 
this silent river conveys air in sufficient quantity to sus- 
tain life in the deep sea, where all the animals have 
become adapted to the strange conditions and are. able 
to exist upon the very limited supply of oxygen. 

Some of the deep-sea fishes are very snakelike; others 
are eel-like, as certain sharks, and it is supposed that in 
the deep sea exist certain huge forms which occasion- 
ally ascend to the surface, giving rise to the theories of 
the sea serpent, 



42 YOUNG FISHES 



YOUNG FISHES 

It is a popular belief that fishes roam about over the 
sea without regard to time or place and have no home 
life, no love of locality, as the terms are understood 
among birds and other animals. This is not strictly 
true. There is every reason to suppose that even the 
roaming fishes descend to favored regions in the deep 
sea year after year, and have localities of their choice. 

Before glancing at individual instances of home makers 
among fishes it may be interesting to observe the young 
and their struggle for life. The fishes increase in sev- 
eral ways. The majority deposit eggs, while in a few 
instances, as Ditrema, one of the Californian surf fishes, 
the young are born alive. Many of the fishes have a 
sense of parental responsibility. Others devour their 
own eggs or young; such are the herrings, sardines, 
barracuda, bluefish, and mackerel (Fig. 18), which in 
most cases undoubtedly deposit their eggs on or near 
the surface, to become the prey of many animals. As 
soon as the young fishes appear, sea birds observe them, 
and from then until they attain the adult stage they 
are followed by scores of predatory animals, their lives 
being preserved only by a constant struggle to evade 
some watchful enemy. It is evident, then, that very 
few fishes comparatively, escape or live to reach the 
adult size, and were it not that they deposit vast num- 
bers of eggs they would soon become extinct. Thus, the 
common eel deposits 8,000,000 eggs. It is estimated that 
each female codfish deposits 9,300,000 eggs, which rise to 



YOUNG FISHES 



43 



the surface and afford food for many fishes. Others 
famous for their vast numbers are as follows : — 



FISH 


Weight of Spawn 
in Grams 


Estimated Number 
of Eggs 


Haddock 

Carp 


2571 

8 lbs. 
2200 

480 
1223 

765 
5100 

361 

149 

542 
5 lb. 9 oz. 


1,839,581 

500,000 

3,300,000 

1,357,400 

36,900 

546,681 

28,323 

49,304 

81,586 

38,278 

100,362 

14,311,200 

9,300,000 

400,000 

3,500,000 

7,635,200 


Conger Eel 

Flounder 

Herring 

Mackerel 

Perch 

Pike . . 


Roach 

Smelt 

Sole 


Turbot • . : 

Cod . . 

Lumpfish ....... 

Halibut 

Sturgeon 



Fish spawn as a rule resembles an enormous mass of 
minute spheres, ranging from those almost invisible in 
the water, to others as large as the head of a pin. Some 
are deposited singly, others in bunches, some fastened 
by strings of mucus to seaweed. Others are buried in 
the sand or among the rocks, and many finny egg layers, 
to be referred to later, are remarkable nest builders, 
ranking among some of the birds in this respect. Among 
the interesting egg layers are certain sharks and rays. 
One, taken from the waters of Santa Catalina Island, is the 
Port Jackson shark, the egg of which is almost as large 



44 



YOUNG FISHES 



as the hand of a child, inclosed in a thick, black, leathery 
case coiled in a perfect spiral and so remarkable in its 
resemblance to the seaweed or kelp in which it is laid by 
the fish, that it is perfectly protected. Some of the dog- 
fishes lay an egg that in shape is like a barrow with four 
handles which wind about the weed and swing in the 
current, — perfect mimics of the surrounding weed (Fig. 
19). This is true of the rays; and the eggs of the 
singular fish Chimaera are deposited in thick, leathery 
cases. The egg case of the fish Callorhynchus is mar- 




Fig. 19. — Barrow-like Egg of a Shark. 

velous in its mimicry, resembling, almost perfectly, in 
color, shape, and movement, the leaf of the fucus, to 
which it is attached. 

Equally interesting is the egg of the hagfish, Myxine, 
that is found enveloped in a bundle of mucus. The 
eggs are oval, fifteen millimeters long and eight milli- 
meters broad, enveloped in a horny case. From the ends 
extend masses of threads, each of which ends in a triple 
hook that serves as an anchor to hold the egg to seaweed 
or other objects. These eggs are rarely noticed by preda- 
tory animals. They are deserted by the parents, the young 



YOUNG FISHES 45 

breaking their way out when fully developed, and being 
exposed to all the dangers to which young fishes are sub : 
jected. 

Among the fishes which care for their eggs none adopt 
a more remarkable method than the Aspredo, a South 
American catfish which when depositing the eggs settles 
down upon them like a hen upon her young. But 
here the resemblance ends ; as the Aspredo rises, could 
the reader follow, he would see that the eggs were all 
clinging to her, being carried about in this way until 
they are hatched. This fish with one other, Solenostoma, 
is the only well-authenticated instance known where the 
mother fish cares for the young or displays any solici- 
tude for them, the responsibilities all devolving upon 
the male parent. The Chromis, found in Lake Tiberias, 
shows its solicitude for the eggs in a singular way. As 
soon as they are deposited, the male fish seizes them in 
his capacious mouth and carries them carefully, not only 
until they are hatched, but so long that finally the grow- 
ing youngsters force his 
large mouth and gills 
open, giving him a ludi- 
crous appearance. Pro- 
fessor Agassiz found a 
little fish in South 
America that protected 

its eggs and young in F ig. 20. - the sea horse. 

this way, and it is be- 
lieved that there are several others. The little sea horses 
(Fig. 20) and their allies have a method of protecting their 
eggs which recalls the kangaroo, although it should be 




46 THE NEST-BUILDING FISHES 

remembered that it is the male, not the female, that 
has the pouch into which the eggs are received. In 
others of this group there is no pouch, the eggs being 
merely attached to the abdomen. In the Solenostoma 
from the Indian Ocean, a pouch is formed in the female 
by the folding of the ventral fins, and in this the eggs 
are held in place by long fleshy filaments. This is the 
second instance known to me where the mother displays 
any solicitude for her young. 



THE NEST-BUILDING FISHES 

A few fishes resemble the birds in their skill in build- 
ing nests for their young. The salmon and trout may be 
compared to the gulls, as the nest which they are sup- 
posed to form in the sand is merely a depression where 
the eggs are deposited. Certain birds, like the brush 
turkey, erect large mounds of earth and leaves in which 
their eggs are deposited. This method finds a counter- 
part in the Semotilus, a fish common in many Northern 
streams. Once in poling a boat along in one of the shal- 
low bays among the Thousand Islands, I ran aground on 
what appeared to be a miniature mountain of pebbles, 
which ranged in size from a small marble to that of a 
walnut weighing two ounces. There were thousands of 
stones, and the heap must have weighed nearly a ton. 
Each stone had been brought to the spot in the mouth 
of a patient Semotilus, and the heap represented the 
accumulation of many seasons. It was the nest of the 
fish, the eggs deposited upon it sinking into the crevices, 



THE NEST-BUILDING FISHES 



47 



which would afford protection to the young. Several of 
these nests were scattered about in the little bays near 
Westminster Park, and were not supposed to be nests of 
fishes by the dwellers thereabouts. 




Fig. 2i. — Stickleback and Nest. 



The lamprey eel builds a similar structure for the pro- 
tection of its eggs. One nest observed in the Saco River 
was sixteen feet in length by four in height, and was 
formed of stones ranging in size from that of a nut to 
that of half a brick. These building materials the lam- 
preys brought down the stream in their suckerlike mouths 



48 THE NEST-BUILDING FISHES 

in a very ingenious fashion. In the case of a heavy stone 
they would attach themselves, sometimes two eels to a 
stone, and by a convulsive movement wriggle themselves 
upward from the bottom ; then they would allow the cur- 
rent to carry them down to the nest, where the stone would 
be dropped. At this nest many eels worked until it as- 
sumed almost the proportions of a dam and constituted 
a rocky fortress, protecting thousands of young lampreys. 
One of the best known of the nest builders is the stickle- 
back, nearly all of the family being nest builders (Fig. 21) 
and some displaying great ingenuity in the construction of 
the home. In those kept by the author the males per- 
formed all the work. These fishes were at this period 
tinted with pink, especially about the head. They would 
collect small bits of grass and weed, reminding one of 
birds gathering material for their nests. These objects 
were deposited in some corner of the aquarium until a 
little mound that had been molded into a definite shape 
was the result. The fish had a bobbin-shaped body and 
would dash into the nest, sometimes passing completely 
through it, as shown in the illustration drawn from some 
pets of the author; again rubbing itself against it, then 
darting off, savagely attacking some enemy that had the 
temerity to approach. The movements of the fish about 
the nest will not be understood unless they are carefully 
watched. It is binding its building material together by 
a magic and glasslike cord which it takes from a pore 
on the lower side of its body. If observed closely, it can 
be seen rubbing itself against the weed, the peculiar secre- 
tion sticking wherever it touches, and hardening into a 
cord or thread, which binds the nest together as com- 



THE NEST-BUILDING FISHES 



49 




-S^ 






-V^^ 



pletely as if it had been wound about with strings. When 
the nest is finished, the eggs are placed in or attached ta 
it and there find protection. There the little fishes live 
until they are large enough to stray away. The mother 
fish does not exhibit the slightest solicitude for the eggs 
or young, and deserts the nest as soon as the eggs are 
deposited. But the 
male takes her place 
and stands guard, at- 
tacking allcomers, and 
even darting at a fin- 
ger when it is pointed 
at him. When the 
little ones appear, his 
labors are greatly in- 
creased, and he is 
repeatedly observed 
to draw wandering 
fishes into his mouth 
and expel them vio- 
lently into the nest. 
Finally, however, they 

grow too large to be herded, they gradually separate, and 
the nest is broken up. 

One of the most attractive nests that I have seen in 
course of construction was that of the paradise fish (Fig. 
22), a beautiful creature found in Chinese and East In- 
dian lakes and streams. This fish has a rich green tint, 
with long, plumelike fins which reach out behind, giving it 
a particularly graceful appearance. The nest is of air 
bubbles, and is formed very much after the soap-bubble 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 4 




Fig. 22. — Paradise Fish and Nest. 



50 THE NEST-BUILDING FISHES 

fashion. The male fish rises to the surface, and with a 
distinct clicking sound fills its diminutive mouth with air, 
which it holds for a few seconds and then releases, the 
air escaping as a silvery bubble, which rises to the surface 
and remains there. The air bubble has in some manner 
been surrounded by a delicate envelope, so that it is really 
a miniature balloon. To this the fish soon adds another 
and another, until a raft of bubbles as large as a dime is 
observed floating on the surface. This is added to until 
there are two rows, and the entire mass is a double-decked 
raft of air bubbles the size of a watch. In this floating 
nest the eggs are deposited, and there the young paradise 
fishes find their first food. 

In Californian waters are found the egg mass of the 
blue perch fastened to the kelp by strings of some secre- 
tion, there evidently being an attempt to fasten them to- 
gether in a rude nest. The most perfect nest of this kind 
is that of the little fish Antennarius, common in the Gulf 
weed. Like the stickleback it has a pore from which it 
takes a glutinous secretion which turns white as soon as it 
touches the water, and soon becomes very strong. This 

secretion is wound 
around masses of 
floating weed until a 
compact nest as large 
as a Dutch cheese is 

the result. In this 
Fig. 23.— Toadfish. 

the eggs are placed, 
resembling little rubies dotting the branches. Here they 
remain until hatched, the young fishes feeding upon the 
delicate growths which abound, until they are large 




THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 



Si 



enough to care for themselves. A number of South 
American fishes are nest builders, notably the Acara. 
The East Indian 
Gourami, which came 
originally from Co- 
chin China, forms a 
nest from mud and 
grass, building the 
structure in a week. 
In this the eggs, 
numbering about one 
thousand, are placed. The Ophiocephalus, an allied fish, 
has a similar habit ; and many similar instances could be 
cited to show that the fishes have more intelligence than is 
generally accorded them and possess no little building or 
constructive ability. The toadfish (Fig. 23) forms a simple 
nest for its young, and the common black-nosed dace 
(Fig. 24) builds a mound-like nest. 




Fig. 24. — The Dace. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

Having observed the habits of the parent fishes in 
their egg laying and nest building, it may be interesting 
to go a step farther and follow the young fishes in the 
struggle for existence which marks every stage in their 
lives. At the hatching time — March, April, May, or 
June — the waters often seem filled with small fry, and 
birds and larger fishes snap them up by thousands. When 
the young first appear, they are almost invisible and are 
then food for the small fishes. Their numbers are soon 



52 THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

decimated, for the school is followed day and night by a 
marauding horde. Often these enemies are the fathers, 
mothers, brothers, and sisters of the young fishes, as, in a 
family of millions, ties of relationship are lost sight of, and 
the family of a preceding season greedily devours those of 
the following, and even their own progeny. 

The great majority of fishes, as the cod, flounders, hake, 
young shark, herring, bluefish, and their allies, are at once 
thrown upon their own resources and but a very small 
percentage escape. The Acara, previously referred to, 
carries its young for some time in its mouth. The 
lumpfish, which has a singular sucker on its ventral 
surface by which it can anchor itself, is followed about 
by its progeny as chickens or ducks follow their parent, 
though in this case it is the male that stands by the 
family. He it is that builds a nest for them, and when 
they are hatched he must face a most remarkable proposi- 
tion. The number of eggs is estimated at from two hun- 
dred thousand to four hundred thousand, and the few 
survivors very soon fasten themselves to the father fish 
and are carried about by him. 

The lumpfish or sucker is called the hen and chickens, 
as it is often seen swimming slowly along, followed by its 
numerous young. The young of the great armored gar- 
fish have a peculiar method of protection. The eggs 
are large and easily attach themselves to any rock or 
stick. The young, when they first appear, have little or 
no resemblance to the parent. They have large mouths 
over which is a row of suckers by which the little gar- 
fishes attach themselves to the rocks. Later these arrange- 
ments disappear. 




THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 53 

The fish in the Jordan known as Halch and several 
of its allies have a peculiar habit of carrying their young 
in their mouths. If we could watch some fishes when 
they first appear, it would be seen that they bear little or 
no resemblance to 
the parent. So 
marked is this in 
some instances 
that the young 
fishes have been Fig. 25. — young swordfish. 

described as en- 
tirely different individuals. The swordfish, regarding 
whose breeding habits very little is known, is supposed 
to deposit its eggs on the high seas. When the young 
appear, they are very strange little creatures, with enor- 
mous eyes, two beaks, equal in length (Fig. 25), and many 
other points in which they differ from the adult. Many 
young fishes have strange ornamental fins which disappear 
when they attain their full growth. Such is the Fierasfer, 
which has a dorsal fin that mimics a vine. Another has 
what resembles two plumes over the eyes. 

But the most marvelous change is seen in the little flat- 
fishes or flounders. When very young they swim upright, 
have an eye on each side, and to all intents and purposes 
resemble other fishes, as the archer fish. But as they 
grow older they assume the wide flounder shape, and soon 
seek the bottom of sandy flats and develop a tendency 
to lie down. This brings one side against the bottom and 
renders the eye useless. The latter seems to resent this, 
as it begins to move over to the upper side (Fig. 26), the 
mouth gradually twisting itself into a shape to conform to 



54 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 



the new position. In time the eye completes its travels, 
and we find it on the upper side, having passed com- 
pletely around the upper or dorsal edge of the fish. 






Fig. 26. — Showing the Journey of the Eye of a Flounder. 
After Agassiz. 

When this is accomplished, the dorsal or top fin grows 
forward beyond the level of the eyes. 

An exception to this is found in the flounder, Plagusia, 
in which the dorsal fin grows to the snout, while the fish 
has an eye upon each side. The fin appears to form a 

barrier to this 
wonderful trav- 
eling eye, which 
seems almost to 
have an intel- 
ligence of its 
own. But it is 
not to be foiled, 
and instead of 
attempting to 
pass the fence-like dorsal fin or frill, it sinks into the soft 
tissue and comes out upon the opposite side. Finally we 
see the flounder hugging the sand, with its two eyes on top 
moving about independently, while the mouth is screwed 
and twisted out of shape to conform to the new condition 
of affairs. 




Fig. 27. — A Flounder. 




THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 55 

A Japanese naturalist, Mr. Nishikavva, has discovered 
another method, intermediate between the two, where 
there is a distinct hole formed by the dorsal fin and the 
head, through which the wandering eye passes in its 
journey to the upper side. 

Many young fishes are armed with curious spines which 

disappear later on. Young fishes soon assume the habits 

of their parents. The sharks separate in all directions; 

the sardines and herring 

(Fig. 28) cling together 

from the very first and 

form schools, which are 

Fig. 28. — A Herring. 

followed by predatory 

fishes without cessation. I have seen a school of young 
sardines, composed of tens of thousands, so intimidated 
that they formed a seemingly solid ball about ten feet 
across. Around this swam a seal, occasionally dash- 
ing into it and seizing a mouthful, then darting away to 
prevent the escape of the school. This seal succeeded in 
keeping the school in almost the same position for over 
half an hour. Soon other enemies gathered ; loons, cor- 
morants, and other diving birds were swimming beneath 
the water, darting into the midst of the frightened fishes 
and devouring them by the score. On the outskirts hungry 
yellowtails hovered about and picked up the stragglers, 
and the complete destruction of the school seemed about 
to be accomplished. 

The young flying fishes, which I have observed dart- 
ing out of the water like grasshoppers, form an illustra- 
tion of fishes which do not school closely. A thousand 
might spread themselves over many acres, while the sar- 



56 THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

dines and herrings generally swim in close file, massed in 
great silver bodies that to the animals below them must 
present the appearance of a silver sky. It is very evident 
that did not nature prevent it, almost complete extermina- 
tion would be the result of the depredations of the large 
fishes. But nature is a perfect care taker. The little 
flounder drops to the bottom and is enabled to disguise 
itself by imitating the object upon which it rests. When 




Fig. 29. — A Sea Horse that resembles Seaweed. 

on white sand, it is very light ; when on a brown bottom, 
its flat, broad back is brown, and almost perfectly pro- 
tected from observation. This power of concealment is 
called protective resemblance or mimicry, and is possessed 
by many fishes. 

The young sculpin is a marvelous mimic, and can 
hardly be distinguished from the rocks among which it 
hides. The little Antennarius, the nest builder of the 
Sargasso Sea, mimics its surroundings in shape and 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 57 

color ; and that the protection is not accidental can be 
shown by changing the fishes from a light to a dark 
bottom and back again. One of the sea horses mimics 
seaweed (Fig. 29). The changes are produced by lights 
and colors which create certain impressions that are car- 
ried from the eye to the various pigment cells, making 
some contract, some expand, producing the changes. 
That the eye is the medium has been shown by sever- 
ing the optic nerve on one side ; the result would be a fish 
striped on one side and light brown on the other. Nearly 
all the bottom fishes are thus protected. 

Young fishes often find safety in strange places. Many 
of the large jelly fishes, especially in the tropics, afford 
shelter to minute fishes, usually allied to the mackerels, 
which dart about beneath the crystal-like umbrellas and 
mimic the tentacles or streamers of their protectors so 
perfectly that it is almost impossible to distinguish them. 
In a large number of jelly fishes I have examined on the 
Florida reef there was rarely one that did not have at- 
tendants in the guise of young fishes. Even the beautiful 
yet deadly Portuguese man-of-war had several attendants, 
marvelous in their mimicry, as each fish (Nomeus) was the 
exact tint of the blue tentacles of the fairylike animal. 

The rate at which fishes grow and the age which they 
attain, are interesting subjects of study. Some grow very 
rapidly, especially the herrings, which appear to be full 
grown in five, eight, or nine months ; others require 
several years to attain full growth. The temperature of 
the water and the food supply are important factors 
which must be considered. The rapid growers, such as 
the herrings, which soon attain a certain size and then 



58 



THE SHARKS AND RAYS 



stop growing, are believed to be short lived. Those 
which slowly and steadily grow, as the pike and carp, 




Fig. 30. — The Pickerel. 

undoubtedly attain a ripe old age, passing the century 
mark. Sir John Lubbock gives the age of carp as one 
hundred and fifty years. 



r~ 



THE SHARKS AND RAYS 

The sharks and rays differ very materially from fishes 
in general, in the fact that they have no bones, the so- 
called skeleton or 
frame being formed 
of cartilage, easily 
bent, twisted, or cut 
with a knife. Not- 
withstanding this, the 
sharks (Fig. 31) are 
among the fierce ma- 
rauders of the ocean, 
the tigers of the sea, 
preying upon all 
forms of life, not hesitating to attack man if a favorable 
opportunity is presented. The dogfishes are small sharks 




Fig. 31. — The Shark. 



THE SHARKS AND RAYS $9 

which swim in droves, carrying devastation before them ; 
but the large sharks move about individually and are met 
with all over the world, even in fresh water. One is 
found at Bagdad three hundred and fifty miles from salt 
water. Another lives in Lake Nicaragua. The largest 
shark is the great Rhinodon, which in the Indian Ocean 
attains a length of sixty or seventy feet. It is a harmless 
creature with minute teeth, showing that it preys upon 
very small animals. 

In American waters there is a cousin of this giant in 
the basking sharks which attains a length of from fifty 
to seventy-five feet. These sharks have a peculiar habit 
of lying at the surface, or basking, and at such times can 
be harpooned. During the last century an important 
fishery was carried on at Cape Cod. A large school of 
these sharks was discovered off Monterey, California, in 
1898, and their capture attempted by some skillful Jap- 
anese fishermen. But a fish which was supposed to be 
dead having suddenly revived, destroying two boats and 
killing several of the.men, the fishing was given up. 

The greater number of sharks prey upon other fishes 
and are scavengers, feeding upon dead animals after the 
manner of buzzards and condors. The large, so-called 
man-eater sharks attain a length of thirty-six feet or 
more, such a specimen having been taken in Australia. 
I have taken sharks of various kinds, ranging up to thir- 
teen feet in length and have a high respect for this 
animal's strength and activity. One which I kept in an 
inclosure for some months towed my boat several miles 
before it was captured. It seized the keel in its jaws 
and shook it as a cat would a mouse ; and it required 



6o THE SHARKS AND RAYS 

twenty men to haul it into the inclosure. A hammer- 
head shark which I hooked and caught at Santa Catalina 
towed me out to sea and was not stopped until four 
rowboats were fastened to it. 

The hammerhead is a remarkable creature, its head 
being a perfect hammer in shape, the eyes located upon 
the extremities. It is a bold and active animal, and the 
largest specimen ever taken, twelve feet in length, fol- 
lowed the fishing boats and robbed them of fish despite a 
combined attack against it. 

Equally remarkable is the thresher shark (Fig. 32), the 
upper lobe of the tail of which is almost as long as the 

body of the fish. It 
is said to use this 
whiplash to kill 
small fry and is 
known to beat the 

FIG. 32. -THRESHER SHARK. Watei ~ With ' lt when 

making its attacks. 
It is assumed by many that the so-called sea serpent 
is a deep sea shark, such an eel-shaped creature having 
been found in Japanese waters. 

Among the small sharks one is luminous over its entire 
surface ; the dogfishes have a spine in front of each dorsal 
fin, while the little Port Jackson shark, common about 
Santa Catalina, California, has a peculiar pink nail-like 
spine in front of each dorsal fin. This shark lies coiled 
up among the rocks much of the time ; its egg is a 
spiral, leathery object, that is a perfect mimic of the 
weed in which it lies. These sharks have several kinds 
of teeth, those in the back resembling crushers. 




THE SHARKS AND RAYS 



61 



Among the large forms is the great blue shark, which 
attains a length of twenty-five or thirty feet. The white 
shark is even larger, and like it is to be dreaded in the 
open sea. A huge helpless shark twenty feet long, with 
minute teeth is common in the Gulf of California, where 
it is supposed to feed upon kelp. The large sharks often 




Fig. 33. — The Skate. 

follow vessels at sea, eating the refuse that is thrown 
over. In dissecting a huge shark I took from it several 
tin cans of meat, that had been partly opened, con- 
demned, and thrown over, three or four hoofs of beeves, 
an old rope, and part of the skull of an ox with 
a remnant of the horn attached. A large man-eater 
caught in Indian waters contained the almost com- 



62 



THE SHARKS AND RAYS 



plete body of a horse, — an indication of the shark's 
enormous appetite. 

The rays (Fig. 35), the broad flat fishes with winglike 
fins and long, slender, whiplike tails, often guarded by 
spines, are closely related to the sharks. Nearly all live 
at the bottom of the sea and prey upon the animals found 
there, as flounders, crayfish, lobsters, and others, which 
they crush with their singular pavement-like teeth. Most 
of the small rays settle down upon their victims and 
endeavor to prevent escape with the enormously developed 




Fig. 34. — The Sawfish. 



side fins which move like wings. The mouth is then pro- 
truded and the prey crushed and eaten. The whip rays, 
black as jet, with a long tail like the lash of a whip, pre- 
sent a very graceful appearance as they glide away over 
the white reef. In the sawfish the head is prolonged into 
a sword (Fig. 34), the edges of which have ivory teeth. 
In capturing its prey the sawfish dashes into the school, 
striking from side to side, impaling some, cutting down 
others, then deliberately picking up the pieces. In some 
instances the saw is six or seven feet in length and twelve 
inches across, making the animal one of the most formi- 
dable of all fishes. 

One of the rays, the torpedo, is a powerful elec- 
trician, fishermen having been knocked down by its 
shock. Some are giants and among the largest of fishes. 



DRY-LAND FISHES 



63 




Fig. 35. —The Giant Ray. 



Such is the devil fish or manta (Fig. 35). One taken in 
South American waters weighed two tons. Another at 
Barbadoes required 
fourteen oxen to 
drag it ashore, and 
a naturalist de- 
scribes one wider 
than the ship from 
which he observed 
it. Specimens from 
fifteen to twenty 
feet wide have been 
observed in the Gulf 
of Mexico, and small vessels have been towed by them. 

In nearly all, the young are born alive, but some rays 
deposit curious barrow-shaped eggs of a black, leathery 
consistence with four filaments which clasp the weed. 

Allied to the sharks and rays is the strange Chimaera. 
I have dredged these fishes in deep water in the Santa 
Catalina channel and kept them alive for a limited time. 
Over the mouth is a curious clasping organ, and the eye 
is a most beautiful object, large, clear, and a blue only 
comparable to that of the water in which the fish lives. 
The eggs of some of these forms are remarkable for their 
resemblance to seaweed. 



DRY-LAND FISHES 

Among the fishes none are more interesting than those 
which spend part of their time out of the water (Fig. 36). 
When the story was first told of a climbing perch, a fish 



6 4 



DRY-LAND FISHES 



that crawled out of the water and remained out of its 
native element for hours, it was denounced as the fabri- 
cation of a practical joker ; but now it is known that this 
little fish not only climbs logs and trees, but migrates 
across country from one pool to another at w r ill. In 




\^£f~? 



Fig. 36. — i. Walking Fish; 2. Climbing Perch; 3. Catfish. 
South America. 

South America the fish known as Doras leaves the 
water and by the aid of its pectoral fins, which now ap- 
pear to serve as legs, it wriggles along in bands of such 
numbers that they are often followed by birds and other 
animals, and even the natives capture them at such times, 



DRY-LAND FISHES 



65 



The migrations of the Doras are for the purpose of 
securing a better water supply. If the pool in which they 
live begins to dry up they immediately desert it and wan- 
der' across the country until a fresh pool is found into 
which they plunge. The migrations of the climbing perch 
are undertaken, in all probability, for the same reason, 
and scores of these fishes have been observed struggling 
through the grass, wending their way overland. In the 
climbing perch the gill cover can be moved easily and the 
spines upon it are used by the fish to aid in its travels. 
The gill chamber is 7 

larger than in other 
fishes and has gills 
proper and singular 
chambers for the re- 
ception of air (Fig. 37). 
The fish can not live 
upon the air it re- 
ceives from the water 
alone. When it is in 
the water it breathes 
by its gills, but when it is on land, or when it rises to 
the surface, as it often does, it fills the little chambers with 
air which is taken up directly by the blood vessels. So it 
might be said that Anabas has lungs for breathing air 
directly, and gills to take it indirectly from the water. 

In many parts of the tropics, notably in Africa and 
Australia, there is a dry season. Pools, lakes, and ponds 
disappear and with them every trace of animal life. What 
has been the bottom of a pool, alive with fishes and other 
animals, becomes a dust-swept, barren depression. Should 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 5 




Fig. 37. — Gills of Climbing Perch. 



66 



DRY-LAND FISHES 



a heavy rain come we might well imagine that fishes had 
been rained down, as the water is soon filled with them. 
But there is another explanation. The fishes which lived 
in the pool were hibernators ; in other words, when the 
water began to disappear they burrowed deep into the 
mud, formed a case about themselves, smooth and polished 

upon the inside, by 
the aid of their 
mucus, and there, 
in what is in all 
probability an air- 
tight case, they 
slept during the 
dry season (Fig. 
38), only awaken- 
ing when the wel- 
come rain came 
again and dissolved 
the cell. The Pro- 
topterus, found all 
over tropical 
Africa, is an eel- 
like creature, at- 
taining a length of 
six feet, its four fins resembling legs or flippers. The 
Australian Ceratodus is a similar fish which at times 
leaves the water and wanders through the rushes on the 
dry land. In Brazil another form, the Lepidosiren, is 
found with similar habits. 

The air bladder in these fishes seems to have taken on 
the functions of a true lung by which they breathe when 




Fig. 38. — Lung Fish and its Burrow. 



DRY-LAND FISHES 



6 7 



out of water, but when swimming they breathe by gills 
with which they are also supplied. These fishes will live 
in a moist place out of water a week, and cases of hiber- 
nating fish have been sent to England in a trunk. 

In these instances the fishes are to a certain extent 
forced from what would seem to be their native element ; 
but in the Mauritius Islands and Western Africa certain 
fishes called gobies (Fig. 39) are found that deliberately 
leave the water and 
wander along the 
muddy shores in 
search of food. At 
this time they use 
the greatly devel- 
oped side or pec- 
toral fins as feet 
and hop along so 
rapidly that, ac- 
cording to Colonel 
Nicholas Pike, 
United States con- 
sul at the Mauritius, 
it is very difficult to 
catch them. He secured his specimens, as he would birds, 
with a shotgun. There are several varieties of these land- 
affecting gobies. All have blunt heads and prominent 
eyes, and all feed along the muddy shores and are seen 
resting upon the dry roots and trunks of the mangrove 
trees. Nearly all these fishes require fresh air and are often 
observed, as the armored gar, rising to the surface ; if 
forcibly kept below, they would doubtless suffocate. 




Fig. 39. — Fishes that leave the Water. 



68 WEAPONS OF FISHES 

WEAPONS OF FISHES 

The methods of defense with which nature has endowed 
many fishes afford an interesting study. Mention has 
already been made of fishes which escape detection by 
mimicking the bottom, as the sculpins and flounders ; 
there are countless others which are provided with a 




Fig. 40. — The Swordfish. 

defensive armament, more or less effective. One of the 
most conspicuous is the swordfish (Fig. 40), whose upper 
jaw is prolonged into a sword which the fish often drives 
through its enemies, and sometimes through the oak-bound 
hulls of ships. Scores of instances could be given, show- 
ing the ferocity of these fishes. It is probable that when 
they strike a vessel, they believe it to be a whale or some 
other enemy. 

The force with which this sword is wielded is terrific, 
and a single illustration will suffice. The ship Fortune, 
having sprung a leak at sea, was obliged to put into port. 
When the cargo was unloaded the sword of a large sword- 
fish was found piercing the hull, causing the leak. It had 



WEAPONS OF FISHES 69 

penetrated (1) the copper; (2) an inch board undersheath- 
ing ; (3) a three-inch plank of hard wood, (4) twelve inches 
of solid white oak timber, and (5) the head of an oil cask 
where it stopped, not allowing a drop of oil to escape. 

The swordfishes fight one another, and I once found 
a specimen which had been run through and through. 
They kill their prey with the sword by slashing from 
side to side, cutting the small fry into pieces, then leisurely 
picking them up. After a charge of a swordfish into a 
school of mackerel barrels of wounded fish have been col- 




Fig. 41. — Electric Catfish. 

lected by fishermen. The sawfish, one of the raylike fishes, 
has a terrific weapon in its sword which has some resem- 
blance to that of the swordfish, and bears upon its sides 
ivory teeth, which lacerate fishes under the heavy side 
blows which the fish makes when charging a school, 

One of the rays, an eel, and a catfish (Fig. 41) are pro- 
vided with an electrical apparatus that is an effective 
armament and protection. The moment the torpedo ray 
is touched, its curious eyes are depressed and a powerful 
shock is given, so vigorous a defense that fishermen 
have been knocked down by it, the shock passing up the 
handle of the spear which the men were using. 

The electric batteries of this fish lie on each side of the 



7o 



WEAPONS OF FISHES 



head and resemble vertical hexagonal prisms crowded 
together, each being a little cell filled with a clear jelly- 
like substance. Eight hundred of these cells have been 
counted, and remarkable experiments made. The electric 
current from the fish will magnetize a needle and can be 
made to produce a spark. When a circuit is completed, 
including the fish, powerful shocks can be given to a num- 
ber of people. When the powers of the fish were first 
discovered it was publicly used as a cure for many dis- 
eases and hundreds of persons received the shocks. The 

upper surface of 
the battery is posi- 
tive, the lower 
negative. 

In all about fif- 
teen different vari- 
eties of electric rays 
are known, and they 
are sometimes the 
cause of the tem- 
porary disablement of fishermen. By its batteries the ray 
is able to benumb and even kill its prey. The batteries are 
also used in defense, as the moment a shark attempts to 
seize one of these rays, it receives a stunning shock. The 
Gymnotus or electric eel of South America (Fig. 42) is 
provided with an electric armament even more dangerous. 
The batteries are two pairs of organs just below the skin : 
one pair back of the tail, and the other near the anal fin. 
The cells are very small, as many as two hundred and forty 
being found in a square inch of surface. In the lakes and 
streams where they abound these eels have been caught at 




Fig. 42. — The Electric Eel. 



WEAPONS OF FISHES 71 

times by driving wild horses into the pools. The rushing 
and stamping of the horses cause the eels to resent the 
attack with such powerful shocks that they are soon ex- 
hausted and can be handled. Some of the eels are six 
feet in length, and the slightest attack by an enemy is 
sufficient to bring out this wonderful muscular action which 
takes the form of a violent electric shock. 

When white people first visited tropical Africa, they 
found that some of the natives used a singular test to dis- 
cover the guilt of suspected persons. The accused party 




Fig. 43. — The Porcupine Fish. 
Inflated. 

was obliged to hold a small catfish, and if he could do 
so without displaying pain, innocence was assumed. The 
catfish is now known as an electrician and is employed by 
the natives as a medicine. The entire body of the little 
fish is covered with electric cells, and the shock is com- 
pared to that of a Leyden jar. 

In some fishes the scales are developed to constitute 
weapons of defense. This is well illustrated in the porcu- 
pine fish. The first specimen that I caught was in the 
,Gulf of Mexico. When taken from the hook it was about 
a foot in length, and was covered with long ivory teeth 



72 WEAPONS OF FISHES 

or spines, all pointed backward ; but in a moment it 
began to swell, and very shortly was a perfect balloon, as 
shown in the accompanying illustration, with spines which, 
like those of the hedgehog, extended in an outward direc- 
tion. Another fish was dotted with short spines and 
puffed up in an equally singular manner (Fig. 43). Many 
of the fishes are provided with long sharp spines which 
prevent them from being readily swal- 
lowed. The little cobbler fish (Fig. 44) 
bears such a jagged spine upon its back. 
The dogfish has a spine in front of each 
dorsal fin, while the Port Jackson shark 
is armed in a similar manner. The 
jagged, saw-toothed darts in the rays are 
' placed at the base of the tail, one above 
the other, the longest being four or 
five inches in length and a formidable 
weapon. The little stickleback is armed 
with spines projecting in various direc- 
tions, while the catfishes have an 
armament of spears which every 
fisherman has discovered. The 

weaver fishes have spines on the 
Fig. 44.— The Cobbler Fish. ... ... , 

gill covers, which are very sharp, 

and while without poison sacs, are very dangerous. The 

spines of all fishes are their weapons of defense, while 

their scales, or plates, like those of the armored gar, or 

sturgeon, and their teeth, are features of their defense 

which enable them to hold their own in the great struggle 

for life in which all fishes seem to be involved. 




FLYING AND LEAPING FISHES 



73 



FLYING AND LEAPING FISHES 



To enable many fishes which have no particular 
methods of defense to escape, nature has given them 
marvelous soaring powers, so well illustrated in the 
different kinds of fly- 
ing fishes found all 
over the world. I have 
seen, at Santa Cata- 
lina, as many as forty 
or fifty flying fishes 
(Fig. 45) rise from 
the water at once ; 
caught by a heavy 
wind, they were raised 
many feet into the 
air, where they glis- 
tened like birds and 
soared away, some disappearing in the distance before 
they plunged back into the water. This was the Cali- 
fornia flying fish, the largest of its kind, and capable of 
soaring a fourth of a mile. The Californian flier is about 
a foot in length. Its side fins are developed into enormous 
winglike organs, the rays connected by a delicate web 
which in the sun resembles glass. The ventral fins also 
form wings, though very much smaller, so the flying fish 
really has four wings. But does it fly ? I have watched 
hundreds of specimens during many years, have observed 
them pass over my boat, have been struck by them, and 
have seen my companions on more than one occasion hit 




Fig. 45. — The California Flying Fish. 



74 FLYING AND LEAPING FISHES 

by these living missiles, yet I have never observed the fish 
move its wings after it had fairly cleared itself of the 
water. 

The tail of the fish is an extraordinary organ, the 
lower lobe being much longer than the upper. When 
the fish is alarmed, it darts upward, impelled by a violent 
screwlike movement of the tail. So energetic is this 
action that it appears to impart a wriggling motion to 
the body, in turn imparted to the fins, giving them the 
appearance of being flapped. This lasts for but two or 
three seconds, then the fish assumes a position, two or 
three feet above the water, with its four wings or fins 
fixed and motionless and moves rapidly along, soaring, 
not flying. Having covered five hundred feet or more, 
its tail begins to droop and soon touches the surface, and 
if the fish desires to return to the water, it drops tail first ; 
but if it is followed by its enemy, the tuna, or dolphin, 
the tail is seen to vibrate and whirl furiously, and the fish 
is again impelled into the air, assuming its original position 
and shooting along, upheld by the parachute-like wings. 
This act is repeated again and again, the fish soaring often 
for a fourth of a mile without returning to the water. At 
Santa Catalina Island, California, people and boats have 
been struck by them, and their motions can be watched 
at any time during the summer months. The wind aids 
them, and their power to turn depends almost wholly upon 
it. In the Atlantic there are ten varieties of flying fishes, 
all very much smaller than the one above mentioned. 
They are beautiful objects as they leap from wave to 
wave. 

In tropical and temperate seas is found the " flying sea 



FLYING AND LEAPING FISHES 



75 




robin," one of the gurnards (Fig. 46), in which the side 
fins are enormously developed, enabling the fish to 
soar away over the 
water. The head is 
protected by a hard 
cuirass, and a blow from 
this flying fish is suffi- 
cient to knock a man 
down. They occasion- 
ally blow aboard ships, Fig. 46. -the soaring sea robin. 
and are most common where large patches of weed 
float upon the surface of tropical or semitropic seas. 
They are richly colored and resemble brilliant insects 
in the air, the wings being sufficiently large to enable 
them to escape many enemies. 

Many fishes which can not fly have the power of leaping 
to a marvelous extent. I have often seen the small gar- 
fish or needle fish dash out of the water and skim along 
the surface for one hundred feet or more, and the large 
garfish of the tropical Pacific is accounted a dangerous 
fish from this habit. Natives have been impaled and 
killed by it, and one of the officers of the Challenger 
expedition was struck upon the head by a leaping garfish, 
its sharp bill striking his cap. 

The ordinary fresh-water pike has been known to leap 
from the water and seize young birds perched on an 
overhanging branch. Nearly all the mackerel tribe are 
famous for their leaping power, the tuna or Pacific 
horse mackerel making the most extraordinary exhibi- 
tions. The tuna follows the flying fish and rushes up 
from below, attempting to seize it in the air, which it 



j6 FLYING AND LEAPING FISHES 

sometimes accomplishes. I have seen one fail to seize 
a fish, but strike it such a violent blow three or four feet 
in the air that the flying fish went whirling upward like 
a pin wheel, to fall dead upon the water. Floating in 
the path of leaping tunas, I have seen scores of these 
fishes in the air at the same time, from four to ten feet 
above the surface. The leap is the picture of grace, the 
tuna rising directly upward, turning and plunging into 
the sea head first, in marked contrast to the leap of the 
swordfish which, while hurling itself three feet from 
the water, invariably drops clumsily tail first. The per- 
formances of the leaping tuna are among the most 
exciting and beautiful exhibitions to be seen at sea. At 
Santa Catalina Island I have seen them driving the flying 
fishes into the air in flocks. The affrighted creatures 
soared in dozens under and over the boat, crouching 
beneath it in fear of these tigers of the sea. The latter 
swept in like arrows, now in the air, now lashing the water 
into foam at the surface, following the flying fish with 
unerring eye and leaping so near the boat that there 
was danger of one landing in it. Had this occurred, 
there could have been but one result. The tuna, six 
feet in length, weighing one hundred and fifty or two 
hundred pounds, would have crashed through the 
bottom. 

The vision of the tuna is remarkably acute. I once 
saw a flying fish coming toward me, watched it pass 
over the boat within three feet of my face, while the 
tuna passed beneath the boat in its wild race and caught 
the unfortunate fish as it struck the water fifty feet 
beyond. The tuna also leaps in play, and its only rival as 



THE VALUE OF FISHES TO MAN JJ 

an acrobat is the giant herring, the tarpon or silver king, 
one of the most beautiful of all fishes, with enormous 
scales which seem covered with molten silver. The 
tarpon is found along the Atlantic coast, rarely as far 
north as New York, being most common on the Gulf 
coasts of Florida and Texas. It has been seen to leap 
ten feet into the air and thirty feet in a horizontal direc- 
tion. When alarmed, a tarpon has been known to leap 
aboard of a steamer in the St. John's River, and in 
Texas a large fish leaped into a small boat, passing 
completely through it. 

The most persistent and beautiful leapers are the sal- 
mon and salmon trout. The former in ascending falls to 
deposit their spawn, leap high falls and rush up water 
ways, showing remarkable agility. The steelhead, a large 
trout, has been known to leap six or seven feet into the 
air when hooked, and it often takes high leaps when in 
play. 

THE VALUE OF FISHES TO MAN 

The fishes which throng almost every body of water 
have, a decided value to mankind. Aside from w T hat is 
called their commercial value they have their various 
offices to fill and duties to perform in the plan of nature. 
The fishes are the direct support of thousands of people 
all over the world, and the amount of money invested 
yearly in boats, nets, lines, hooks, rods, and sinkers, if 
expressed in money, would represent an enormous sum. 
Fishes constitute an important food item the world over. 
In some countries fish is the chief article of diet, and in all 



78 



THE VALUE OF FISHES TO MAN 



lands the demand for fish on Fridays alone means the ex- 
penditure of millions. To capture this fish supply fisher- 
men have invested their all, and capitalists have formed 
companies, with thousands of dollars at stake. 

Some of the most remarkable fisheries are the Ameri- 
can cod (Fig. 47) fisheries on the Grand Banks, several 
hundred vessels and several thousand men being employed. 
Gloucester, Massachusetts, is said to be the city of widows 
and orphans, due to the fatalities on the Grand Banks, as 
every year there are many wrecks and accidents. The 




Fig. 47. — The Cod. 

cod-liver oil industry alone is one of stupendous propor- 
tions, involving thousands of dollars. On the northwest 
coast the salmon canneries employ hundreds of men, and 
at various points along our coast and that of England we 
find sardine and other canneries. 

The skin of small sharks or dogfish is made into leather 
or shagreen, and the oil from the liver is employed in 
machinery. The natives of the South Pacific islands use 
sharks' teeth as edges to their swords, while in China 
shark fins are in demand for the gelatine they produce. 
From Kurrachee alone the fins of forty thousand sharks 
are shipped annually, and in one year Bombay has sent 



THE VALUE OF FISHES TO MAN 79 

to China eight thousand hundredweight of fins alone, to 
take which, large numbers of professional sharkers are 
employed. 

The little candle fish of Alaska is used as a. light, being 
fastened to a stick, and when lighted burning with a clear 
flame. 

The sturgeon fisheries of Alaska are very valuable, 
while those of Russia alone afford employment to a hun- 
dred thousand persons. The flesh is eaten, while the 
eggs as caviare are shipped all over the world. 

The mackerel fishery is one of the most important, 
affording a direct living to a large number of persons on 
the New England coast. 




Fig. 48. — The Remora. 



The salmon fisheries of Alaska are of enormous pro- 
portions, and in one year the owners received from the 
rest of the world nearly $3,000,000 in exchange for their 
catch of salmon, which goes to the support of seven 
thousand persons in Alaska. In the north the fishes 
produce food, and the skin of the air bladder of some is 
used as glass, the bones and teeth in buttons and orna- 
ments, and the oil as light, food, and medicine ; in every 
land men, women, and children are found obtaining a 
living directly from the fishes. 

The swordfish fishery is a valuable one in New England, 
where a fleet of vessels follow the swordsmen of the sea. 



8o 



THE SALAMANDERS 



The harpooner stands upon the end of the bowsprit and 
plunges his lily iron into the fish as the vessel sails over it. 

A strange use to 
which fishes are put 
is illustrated by the 
remora or sucking 
fish, which has a 
peculiar sucking 
disk upon the top 
of its head (Fig. 48), 
by which it attaches 
itself to sharks, and 
I have seen it hold- 
ing on to a large 
turtle. The fisher- 
men of tropical 
waters are said to 
capture turtles by fastening a ring about a remora's tail, 
then by using a long cord releasing it in the vicinity of 
a turtle. True to its instinct, the fish attaches itself to the 
sleeping animal, which is slowly hauled in (Fig. 49). 




Fig. 49. — Catching Turtles with Remoras. 



REPTILES 
THE SALAMANDERS 



Some years ago I found myself deep in the great north- 
ern forest which covers the Adirondack country, having 
strayed from the beaten trail. All about rose pillarlike 
trees, moss-grown and ancient, the leaves and branches 
of which had fallen for years and remained undisturbed. 



THE SALAMANDERS 8 1 

Great trunks lay prostrate, matted with a carpet of green, 
up through which the fronds of ferns and brakes pro- 
truded. The air was soft and redolent with the odor of 
pine and spruce. Everywhere there was something to 
attract the eye, yet the noticeable feature of this forest 
was the silence ; hardly a sound broke the stillness save 
when the soft wind rose and some vagrant branch played 
upon a neighbor, or the needles of the pine swept the air 
like vibrant strings. 

As I listened, there came "om-oram-om-m-m," a peculiar, 
deep, booming sound from far away. It might have been 
the defiant note of the moose, but there were none of these 
animals here. Again it came, and I turned and followed it 
as well as possible for an hour, finally coming to a small 
lake, to find that the mystery was a ponderous bullfrog 
whose resonant croak or " bellow" could be heard at least 
two miles with the wind, so penetrating was the remarkable 
sound. This pool was a veritable wonderland, with its 
snakes, turtles, frogs, and the many curious forms which 
popularly pass as salamanders. On one side the water 
was covered with pond lilies, a beautiful contrast to the 
verdure which surrounded the pool. Among them was 
found a jellylike mass (Fig. 50, c) f dotted with black spots, 
— the eggs of a frog, possibly of the kind that had lured 
the stroller through the forest. Some of the jelly was 
carried back to camp and placed in a little nook of a large 
lake, where the various stages in the transformation were 
watched, from an egg to a tailed animal breathing air in 
water like a fish, to a perfect amphibian, living on land 
and breathing air after the fashion of land animals. 
In the half hours devoted to fishes the great difference 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 6 



82 THE SALAMANDERS 

between the habits of the sardines, as an example, and 
the Amia and Lepidosiren must have been noticed. The 
former rely so completely upon water that a few mo- 
ments without it are sufficient to kill them, and so with 



Fig. 50. — Frog Eggs and Young. 



the majority of fishes. But with the Amia and others it is 
entirely different. They seem to be pioneers of a new 
movement in fish life. One might almost believe that dis- 
content with marine life was taking place and that the 



THE SALAMANDERS 83 

fishes were determined to leave the water and climb out 
upon dry land ; and practically this is what is happening, 
as certain fishes leave the water and crawl along shore, 
being especially adapted by nature for the change. These 
fishes remind us very much of certain reptiles whose lives 
illustrate the remarkable fact that Nature in her onward 
march has seemingly prepared the way for the land 
animals by producing the marvelous group which now 
may be glanced at, animals which live on the land or in 
the water ; in a word, are amphibious. The changes which 
these animals undergo, from the egg to the adult, tell so 
many remarkable stories, disclose so many secrets, that it 
is well to follow them. The little egg mass (Fig. 50, c ) 
seems but mere jelly, but day by day it changes, and a 
minute, long-tailed creature can soon be seen in the egg, 
looking beneath the glass very much like a fish. Daily it 
grows, becoming more active, until, in a week or two, it 
breaks from its jelly prison and appears upon a new scene, 
and is known as a tadpole (Fig. 50, 1). It has two small 
suckers behind its mouth with which it clings to bits of 
weed, the common attitude being shown in the accom- 
panying illustrations. Now the wonderful transformation 
begins. Nature is the magician ; she waves her wand, and 
presto ! there comes, day by day, the change by which a 
water animal slowly but surely becomes a land animal, or 
one which is adapted to both land and water. 

The first change is the appearance of little tufts on 
each side of the head, shown in Figure 50, 2, which call to 
mind the gill tufts of some young sharks, which appear 
while the young is in the egg. Curious changes now 
occur. The mouth is provided with hard nipping jaws, 



84 THE SALAMANDERS 

and slowly the outside gills, with another whisk of Nature's 
wand, disappear, and the tadpole presents the appearance 
shown in Figure 50, 3, more like a fish than ever, with a long 
tail, breathing by means of six little slits in its throat, very 
much like those of the lamprey. As it wriggles along, 
almost any observer would say that it was a fish, but 
Nature again waves her wand, and as the tadpole grows, 
something is seen upon each side of the tail, and presto ! 
the tadpole has hind legs (Fig. 50, 4), the first step in be- 
coming a land animal. The tadpole now presents a ludi- 
crous appearance, with its enormous tail and hind legs. 
In eight or ten days minute fore legs are seen, and the 
tadpole begins to realize that it is not a water animal after 
all, so drags itself upon a leaf (Fig. 50, 5) and looks around. 
It still has the ponderous tail, which would be an incum- 
brance upon land ; but this grows smaller, wonderful to 
relate, shrinks daily, and many other changes are taking 
place to prepare this fishlike creature for life on shore. It 
now continually comes to the surface, emitting bubbles of 
air like the fish Ceratodus, and taking in a fresh supply, 
which passes to a fishlike air bladder by a convulsive gulp 
which it cften gives. Our tadpole then has lungs for 
breathing air out of water and gills for breathing it 
beneath the surface. 

The change continues ; and if one could peep into the 
little animal, he would see that the lungs are receiving all 
the attention, the blood vessels to them are increasing in 
size and number, and the gills are being neglected. The 
result of this is that the gills finally disappear, the fishlike 
heart of two chambers is changed to one of three cham- 
bers, and the tadpole crawls upon the bank a perfect frog, 



THE SALAMANDERS 



85 



a land animal pure and simple, having in a few days 
passed through marvelous changes (Fig. 50, 1-7). 

Such is the typical childhood of a batrachian, though 
there are many exceptions. In the Solomon Islands there 
is an interesting example of a frog whose young pass 
through all the stages of development in the Qgg ; they 
breathe by the aid of certain folds of the skin which are 
formed in each side of the belly. There is much in this 
little creature to call to mind the birds. When the hatch- 
ing time approaches, the young are seen to be provided 
with an egg breaker, after the fashion of young chickens, 
a little nob or cutter on the end of the nose, which the 
frog pushes against 
the shell to break it. 

Even more remark- 
able is a frog which 
deposits its eggs be- 
neath stones. The 
young pass through 
the tadpole stage 
within the egg, have 
an enormous tail for 
swimming, but no 
water to swim in; hence the observer might imagine 
that Nature was at fault. But by no means. The big 
tail of the imprisoned tadpole is supplied with blood 
vessels to an extraordinary degree and is the breathing 
organ. There are equally curious exceptions among other 
forms. Thus the siren (Fig. 51) is a long, slender, snake- 
like creature with permanent outside gills, fore feet, but 
no hind legs. One form is three feet in length, a most 




Fig. 51. — The Siren. 



86 THE SALAMANDERS 

disagreeable creature. Another, the Proteus (Fig. 52), has 
exterior gills and two pairs of legs. 

The salamanders were supposed by the old writers to 
be able to pass through fire without injury. This fiction 
originated in the fact that salamanders are covered with 
a slimy secretion which would enable them to resist burn- 
ing longer than a bird or other animal. The great 
Japanese salamander is the largest of the tribe, a bulky 
creature over three feet in length. The most interesting 




Fig. 52. — The Proteus. 

American salamander is the Amblystoma, many species of 
which are known in America, nearly all of them inhabit- 
ing the western portion of the continent. They undergo 
a marvelous change, and the young or larval stage is so 
different from the adult that the two were for a long time 
considered separate and distinct animals. This is well 
shown in the illustration (Fig. 53), the lower figure being 
the young, the upper the perfect form. In Mexico the 
animal is called the Axolotl, and there, for a long time, the 



FROGS AND TOADS 



S7 



imperfect form only was known. It lives in the water, 
breathing by external plumelike gills. Finally some one 
took some Axolotls to Paris, when, to the amazement of the 
keepers of the Jardin des Plantes, their gills disappeared, 




Fig. 53. — The Amblystoma and Young. 

and the animals came out of the water in the guise of 
perfect Amblystomas. The secret was that the dry air of 
Mexico was not favorable to their perfect development, 
and the Axolotls therefore retained their larval form. 



FROGS AND TOADS 

"Oom 0-0-m," comes the deep sound through the forest, 
the note of the bullfrog far away. " Chirrup — chirrup " 
comes from beneath the house, while down by the pool 



88 FROGS AND TOADS 

among the willows the piping, whistling, and booming rise 
on the night air in a volume of sounds. The frogs are 
merely talking, singing, or laughing. It is true that they 
repeat the same notes over and over, and these become 
very monotonous, but every stroller can remember that 
when in the forest the pipe of a frog was a welcome 
sound. 

There is great variety in the notes of these talkers, 
singers, and whistlers. The tree toads are particularly 
noted for their loud cries. One of the first sounds of 
spring is the high and shrill piping of Pickering's Hyla, 
and by placing several in a tin boiler the body of sound 
can be fully appreciated. A curious, gruff, clacking 
sound is heard in places, as though some one were clap- 
ping two clam shells together. This is sure to be the 
little green frog Acris, that sits on a lily pad all day long. 
Another recalls the scraping of a horse comb. As the 
season progresses, other voices are heard, — shrill pipings, 
low rumblings, notes like the sound of the click in a fish- 
ing reel, lonely pipes which might be uttered by some bird, 
— but all the songs of frogs. In the Mexican forest may 
be heard a hyla uttering a strange cry, which has been 
compared to the bleating of goats, while Faber's Hyla says 
" clink — clink — clink," a marvelous imitation of a small 
hammer dropping upon an anvil. What a babel of sounds 
would be produced could the myriads of frogs and toads 
of even this country be collected in one small pond ! It 
would be an amphibian band, indeed. The common toad, 
with its urr-r-r-r-r, the spade foot, with its loud and dis- 
cordant note, equal at times to a steam whistle, according 
to Dr. Abbott; the big, bass-singing bullfrog — these 



FROGS AND TOADS 89 

would be the soloists of this frog aggregation, while the 
"eoie — eoie,"orthe "chock — chock," and deep resonant 
"chung — chung " of others, would add to the volume of 
remarkable sounds. 

Frogs and toads have been found in nearly all parts of 
the world where ponds and pools exist. In some places, 
when they are overtaken by the dry seasons, they burrow 
down into the earth and lie dormant until the rain comes 
again. The sudden appearance of frogs in such places 
has often given rise to stories of miracles, but it is merely 
due to the rain, which soaks out the frogs that have been 
lying in the baked ground, and they at once begin piping 
in joy at their release. The frogs are animal feeders, 
subsisting mainly on insects, which they capture with 
their wonderful tongues. In turn they are preyed upon 
by snakes, and, being defenseless little creatures, Nature 
has given them a marvelous protection ; namely, colors 
which so resemble the objects amid which they crouch 
that it is almost impossible to see them. The green frog 
mimics the trunk upon which it rests ; the toad resembles 
the dusty path on which it is often 
found. 

In California is seen a wonderful 
mimic, a little tree toad (Fig. 54). It is 
especially common in a canyon leading 
into the Sierra Madre Mountains. In fig. 54. — the tree 
the center is a stream filled with polished 
stones of varied colors, and on these stones the tree 
toads live ; but so remarkable is the mimicry that one 
is rarely seen before it is touched. Those on white 
stones are very light ; those on granite bowlders are 




go 



FROGS AND TOADS 




Fig. 55.— The Toad. 



speckled black and white ; some are brown, some red- 
dish, some gray, others black : all are perfectly secure 
from birds and snakes so long as they do not move. To 

test the powers of 
these little mimics to 
change color or adapt 
themselves to the color 
of surrounding objects, 
I once arranged a num- 
ber of pens or inclos- 
ures, with bottoms 
formed of stones of 
different tints or colors, ranging from black to white 
quartz. Into these were released a number of tree 
toads, which presently secured positions upon them with 
their little sucker-provided toes. In half an hour they 
all bore a remarkable resem- 
blance to their surroundings, 
it being difficult to distinguish 
them except as lumps upon 
the rocks, and w T hen changed 
about they rapidly assumed 
the protective garb. JI 

The common toad is not jf| 
the stupid creature it appears |j 

to be. The eastern toad is 
fairly active, but the common 
one in California (Fig. 55) is very heavy, slow of motion, 
almost unable to hop, dragging its clumsy body along the 
ground. 

In sharp contrast to it is the bullfrog (Fig. 56), which 




Fig. 56 u — The Bull-frog. 



FROGS AND TOADS 



91 



makes extraordinary leaps of ten or twelve feet, by means 
of its powerful hind legs, thus evading its enemies. Ap- 
proach a pond and shout; the clatter from hundreds of 
throats sometimes ceases. Draw nearer, and splash — 




Fig. 57. — Soaring Toad. 



splash go the frogs, while from various logs roll and 
tumble clumsy turtles. 

The little tree toad is a famous jumper, but the most 
remarkable member of the tribe in this respect is the so- 
called flying tree toad of Borneo (Fig. 57). This little 
creature is not a flier, but soars like the flying fish and the 



92 



FROGS AND TOADS 





Fig. 58. — Frog's Egg. 



Fig. 59. — Frog's 
Egg. 



58 and 59) to 



flying squirrel. Its toes are webbed, forming perfect para- 
chutes. With these the toad leaps from tree to tree with 
perfect ease, swooping downward, rising to alight again, 

repeating this 
as often as 
an enemy ap- 
pears. 

The habits 
of frogs and 
toads are ex- 
tremely inter- 
esting, and 
their development from the egg (Figs. 
the adult has been referred to. The skeleton (Fig. 60) 
shows the long legs and enormously developed fingers, 

which are booms for 
the sail-like webs by 
which the frog swims, 
and of all the skele- 
tons it is apparently 
the simplest. 

In collecting these 
animals — which is an 
easy matter — and in 
studying their habits, 
one is impressed by 
the fact that the most 
remarkable feature about them is their method of car- 
ing for their eggs and young. The little Alytes of 
Europe strings the eggs and winds them about its body, 
and so protects them until the young appear. An 




Fig. 60. — Skeleton of a Frog. 



FROGS AND TOADS 



93 



African frog deposits its eggs on the under side of 

leaves, so that the rain may wash them into streams, water 

in nearly every instance being necessary for the various 

changes from egg to frog or toad. There is a remarkable 

exception to this in the island of Guadaloupe. Here 

there are no swamps, and the young appear directly in the 

adult form. In the Island of Martinique the stroller 

through the forest 

may see a tree toad h c^ 

carrying its -young 

in the tadpole 

stage, clinging to 

its back, the little 

tails wriggling in 

every direction. 

In South Amer- 
ica a toad carries 
its young in a sac 
on its back. But 
th.e strangest 
method is that of 

the Surinam toad (Fig. 61). When the eggs are laid, the 
male places them upon the back of the female, where 
they become lodged or fixed in little cells, each of w 7 hich 
has a covering, the back of the toad being covered with 
them, varying from fifty to one hundred. Here they 
remain until they hatch and the young toads are com- 
pletely formed, w r hen they leap out, as shown in the 
illustration, and thereafter care for themselves. A North 
American form, the obstetrical toad, winds the egg masses 
about itself and carries them until they are hatched. 




Fig. 61. — Surinam Toad. 



94 FROGS AND TOADS 

Some of the frogs are nest builders. A Brazilian frog 
burrows beneath stones and forms a hole the size of a 
base ball. This is almost filled with a white froth which 
the frog produces in some way, and in this the large yel- 
low eggs are placed. The nest is always formed near a 
pool which overflows its banks ; by the time the tadpole 
stage is reached, water floods the nest and the young ones 
swim away to complete their growth in more favorable 
situations. Another Brazilian frog places its eggs in a 
froth mass and surrounds it with willow leaves, a perfect 
nest, open at one end, being the result. In this swinging 
hammock, high upon some lofty tree top, the young prob- 
ably pass their tadpole days. Still another frog from 
Paraguay forms its nest among leaves over the water, the 
first rain washing them down into it. A little Japanese 
frog builds a subterranean nest which she fills with a mass 
resembling fine soap bubbles, mixing it up to form the 
damp, air-supplied medium in which the young are to pass 
the important stage of their lives. When the young are 
hatched, the foam or bubble mass is changed into water, 
runs out through the crevices, carrying the small fry into 
the outside world, where they reach the open water. In 
some pools in Brazil where the mud is near the surface, 
little circles, like miniature craters, are often seen. These 
are the nests of a tree frog, Hylafaber. The circle is often 
a foot in diameter and has been heaped up by the odd 
little hands of the frog. In the interior the eggs are 
placed, the young being inclosed by the mud fence which 
the parent has built about them. 

These are examples of nest builders, but there are some 
forms, like the Surinam toad, and the obstetrical toad 



FROGS AND TOADS 95 

referred to, which have been termed nurses. A Ceylon 
tree frog carries the eggs about in a little mass attached 
to its belly. In the Seychell Islands there is a very atten- 
tive nurse frog, probably the male. When the eggs are 
laid, he keeps them moist and watches them until they are 
hatched ; then, in some manner not known, he places them 
on his back, where they adhere during all his perambula- 
tions among the tree tops. In Dutch Guiana a tree frog 
carries its tadpoles in the same way. Sometimes there 
are twenty carried " pickaback " and, strange to say, the 
tadpoles are in two rows facing each other, with their long 
tails out. A Brazilian nurse carries its eggs on its back, 
which are held in place by a ridge of skin. One of the 
most remarkable of these tree-frog nurses is a very small 
specimen from Chile, not over an inch in length. When 
the eggs are laid, the male takes them in his mouth, where 
a large sac is developed for the purpose, and there they 
are carried until the young appear. 

The frogs and toads are valuable to man, devouring 
many insects injurious to vegetation — the frogs forming 
a valuable article of diet, especially in France. The little 
Hyla arborea has been used as a barometer, by placing it 
in a tall but narrow bottle or jar provided with a miniature 
ladder. If the weather is fair, or going to be, the little 
toad climbs the ladder; but if the signs, only discernible 
to itself, are for rain, the weather prophet lies snugly in 
the bottom. 

Many remarkable superstitions are associated with frogs 
and toads, as the jewel supposed to be found in the toad's 
head. The most enduring story is that of the toad em- 
bedded in solid rock. In an effort to prove the impossi- 



96 THE SNAKES 

bility of this a naturalist had a series of rocks arranged in 
which the toads could be sealed up. The experiment was 
carefully carried out, but in no instance did the animals 
live beyond a few weeks. The fable arose from the habit 
of toads and frogs hibernating or entering a winter sleep. 
At the approach of cold their food supply is cut off, and 
they are threatened with the rigors of winter; so these 
little animals burrow deep into the earth, the former 
going down into the mud of ponds, the latter burrowing 
in the ground anywhere, or entering the burrows of other 
animals. There they literally go to sleep ; their functions 
are all in abeyance ; they do not eat ; breathing is almost 
imperceptible, and they are said to be in a state of hiberna- 
tion. In this condition they pass the cold months. 

The frogs of the tropics enter a similar state when 
deprived of water. Frogs incased in dry earth, hardened 
almost to stone, have been found at various times, and the 
story at once circulated that a toad had been taken from 
the solid rock, when, if water had been poured upon the 
latter, it would have dissolved and relieved the toad that, 
instead of having been a prisoner for a thousand years, 
entered its seclusion the previous season to avoid a 
drought or cold weather. 

THE SNAKES 

In half hours spent from time to time in the forest 
or along some well-wooded stream the stroller may 
chance to observe some of the most dreaded of reptiles, 
the snakes. Nothing can be more attractive when color 
is considered, yet of all the animal kingdom they are 



THE SNAKES 



97 



held in least respect, and it seems to be instinctive in 
man to place his heel upon a snake. This dislike is 
due mainly to prejudice, the result of years of super- 
stition, which has produced the milk snake, the hoop 
snake, and others which exist only in the imagination. 

The snakes are in the main valuable allies of man, 
particularly the farmer, as they devour incredible num- 
bers of mice, gophers, and 
squirrels which prey on grain. 
The non-poisonous snakes 
should never be killed, and 
there is no reason for the 
wanton destruction of rattle- 
snakes in open and barren 
regions unless the country is 
being settled by mankind. 

In some instances the snakes 
are so deadly that organized 
warfare is made against them. 
This is the case in India, 
where annually nearly twenty 
thousand natives lose their 
lives by cobras (Fig. 62). In our own forests the harm- 
less snakes are usually the ones seen ; as the little green 
snake which mimics the verdure and resembles a vine; 
or the striped snake, almost invisible along the roadside. 

These animals are true reptiles, and are a decided advance 
upon the batrachians, — the frogs, toads, and salamanders. 
The features which attract attention are the long, cylin- 
drical body, covered with fine scales, and the absence 
of limbs. In the poisonous varieties the head is flat 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 7 




Fig. 62. — The Cobra. 



9 8 



THE SNAKES 



and diamond shaped, as in Figure 63, B, while the non- 
poisonous forms have a long, slender head, as that of 
the common garter snake (Fig. 63, A). 

B 




Fig. 63. — Heads of Snakes. 

The wonderful mechanism of the snake can best be 
observed in the skeleton (Fig. 64), which is made up 
of many vertebrae, often three or four hundred, joined 
on the ball-and-socket plan. This explains the flexi- 




Fig. 64. — Skeleton of a Snake. 



THE SNAKES 



99 



bility of all snakes and the facility with which they wind 
about their prey, forming remarkable folds and knots.' 




Fig. 65. — Head of a Non-poisonous Snake. 

An examination of the head (Fig. 65) explains why 
it is possible for a snake to swallow animals so much 
larger than itself. The 
secret is that the lower 
jaw is not firmly at- 
tached to the upper, 
as in man, but the jaws 
can be stretched apart 
to an incredible width, 
permitting a python 
(Fig. 66) to swallow a 
small deer. This is 
owing to the presence 
of a quadrate bone on 
each side, between the 
upper and the lower 
jaw, which is movable, 
permitting the jaws to 




Lore. 



Fig. 66. — Python. 



IOO THE SNAKES 

distend. The teeth in a non-poisonous variety are small, 
sharp, and conical and point backward. They are used 
only for holding prey, not for masticating, as the snakes 
swallow their food entire. The tongue is long, slender, 
and forked, and is darted out in a rapid manner, especially 
when the snake is enraged. The eyes have no movable 
lids; hence the stare of the snake and its expressionless, 
stony appearance. 

Without limbs except rudimentary ones beneath the 
skin in some, the snakes are among the most rapid 
movers, darting out of sight with inconceivable rapidity. 
Some live among trees, swing from them to secure their 
prey, and suffer no disadvantage by their lack of limbs, 
They move by successively advancing the large lower 
scales, the rapid action sending the animal along with 
great speed. In obtaining their food snakes glide quietly 
through the verdure, climbing trees for birds or eggs, 
entering the water for small fishes, and occasionally 
spending much time in it, as the water snakes, in which 
the tail is a paddlelike organ. When the prey is seen, 
they dart upon it with great velocity and endeavor to 
encompass it in their folds, literally tying themselves 
into knots about the victim, and crushing it to death. 
In a few seconds a python or boa constrictor will in 
this way crush the bones of a small deer. In the case 
of poisonous snakes the victim is rendered powerless by 
the poison which issues from a poison sac at the base 
of the fang (Fig. 67). When the rattlesnake or cobra 
strikes, the mouth closes, certain muscles press upon 
the gland, and the poison is forced into the wound. 
The rattlesnake has a rattle which it sounds ; this serves 



THE SNAKES 



101 




Fig. 67. — Fangs of a Rattlesnake. 
Showing poison sac, g. 



as a warning to man and beast. In the Northern States 

the snakes, as well as the lizards, hibernate during the 

winter, often being 

found rolled in balls, 

coming out in early 

spring in a famished 

condition. 

The snakes lay 
eggs, either burying 
them in the soil or 
sands, or forming a 
nest on the surface. 
The latter has be,en observed in the rock python, the snake 
coiling itself about the eggs, which hatch in about fifty- 
six days. Various snakes when alarmed will receive their 
young into their mouths. Colonel Nicholas Pike in- 
formed me that he had witnessed this act in several 
snakes, among which were the moccasin, rattlesnake, and 
garter snake, the reptiles being in a box where he could 
watch them at short range. 

In their habits the snakes are very interesting. The 
green tree snakes are attractive creatures, mimicking 
vines and climbing into trees, in search of birds and 
their young. The activity of these snakes is marvelous. 
They are usually very long and slender and richly 
colored, green being the prevailing tint. One of the 
most beautiful is found in Borneo, where it is a pet in 
many native households, the children being seen with 
the reptile wound about their necks and arms. This 
snake is at home in the highest trees, and rushes 
through the tree tops in search of prey, swinging from 




102 THE SNAKES 

limb to limb and from tree to tree like an animate vine. 
Many snakes live in and about fresh-water ponds and 
streams, feeding upon small fishes and swimming readily. 
The sea snakes, as their name implies, are perfectly at 
home at sea, possessing a flat, paddlelike tail by which 

they swim. These 
snakes are found in 
many seas (Fig. 68). 

The largest snakes 
are the pythons and boa 
constrictors, which at- 
tain a length of twenty 

FIG. 68.-A SEA-GOING SNAKE. ^ ^^ SpCCimCHS 

much larger have been 
reported by naturalists. Such an animal would be more 
than a match for a strong man, assuming that its folds 
were thrown about him. As a rule snakes are harmless 
and inoffensive, rarely attacking human beings unless 
disturbed. 

The cobra, one of the most deadly of snakes, is, curi- 
ously enough, handled with impunity by the Indian 
jugglers, who carry several snakes about in flat baskets, 
giving entertainments with them. They lift them out of 
their baskets, and by whistling on their crude musical 
instruments induce the terrible reptiles, whose bite is 
almost certain death, to rise and go through a so-called 
dance. It has been supposed that there was some trick- 
ery about this performance, that the fangs had been 
removed, but careful investigation has shown that the 
snakes had not been tampered with. The secret of the 
safety of the men appears to lie in their perfect confidence. 



THE LIZARDS 103 

The snakes doubtless know that the performers have no 
fear of them, and permit themselves to be handled, even 
roughly, without attempting to strike. 

THE LIZARDS 

In a number of months spent on the slope of the Sierra 
Madfe Mountains I often found no little entertainment 
in watching the lizards which abound there in surprising 
numbers. Some live in the brush or chaparral of the 
foothills, others in the deep canyons which wind into the 
range, while many more affect the warm, dry mesa. 
Every pile of stones seems to be a lizard's castle, and dur- 
ing warm, sunshiny days of a Southern Californian winter 
scores of these little creatures can be seen. 

A very common form is a dark, slate-colored lizard with 
very sharp, beadlike eyes. It is four or five inches in 
length, and upon its throat it bears a spot of iridescent 
blue. Upon approaching it the lizard invariably raises 
itself quickly, repeats the action, and flashes the color spot 
as though to dazzle the observer. This, it is supposed, is 
to frighten the enemy or is a fetish shaken at him ; but 
when it is found to have no effect, the lizard adopts an 
entirely different method, crouching flat upon the rock, 
which it so resembles in color and tint as to cause it to be 
almost invisible. This ruse would deceive a bird perhaps, 
but one day, moving quietly on, I reached out my hand, 
and suddenly grasped one of these little mimics. It 
sprang to the ground and darted away, leaving what ap- 
peared to be another lizard leaping about upon the sand. 
Capturing this derelict, it was found to be the tail broken 



104 THE LIZARDS 

off evenly at one of the joints and now seemingly pos- 
sessed with independent life. By the watch it leaped 
and squirmed nearly a minute. 

Time and again this experiment was made, the lizards, 
when violently startled, tossing off their tails, a move 
undoubtedly intended to attract attention to the leaping 
tail, while the body ran away. This body would not be 




Fig. 69. — Head of the Gecko. 

tailless for evermore, but would grow another tail in a few 
months. 

Among the collection made of living lizards there were 
some with tails of all sizes, from stumps to those almost 
completely grown, the original tails having been lost in all 
probability while endeavoring to deceive some enemy, and 
doubtless many a road runner had been forced to put up 
with a tail instead of a lizard. The little gecko (Fig. 69) 
throws off its tail at the slightest warning, and as it 



THE LIZARDS 



105 



strikes the ground, leaping and tumbling about, its owner 
has been seen to turn, rush at it and devour it, thinking 
it a worm possi- 
bly, paying a 
tribute to the 
success of its 
own device of 
tail throwing. 

The lizards are 
remarkable for 
the rapidity of 
their move- 
ments, and when 
in a tree it is 
almost impossi- 
ble to follow 
them, so quickly 
do they move 
or adapt them- 
selves to the 
color of the 
limb or leaf 
upon which they 
rest. This is par- 
ticularly true of 
the lizard shown 
in Figure 70, 
the American chameleon. I once kept several of these 
little creatures, and the marvelous tints and colors of green 
and brown they would assume were a constant delight. 
They became very tame, ate flies and various insects from. 




Fig. 70. — American 
Chameleon. 



106 THE LIZARDS 

the hand, and ran over me with impunity. One would 
sometimes rest on my hand as I wrote, its cunning eyes 
watching every movement. 

The skeleton of the lizard is shown in Figure 71, and 
an examination will show that it is decidedly an advance 
upon that of the snakes. The jaws are not extensible as 
in the latter, hence the lizard is confined to small insects, 
which are crushed by its sharp conical teeth. The tongue 




Fig. 71. — Skeleton of a Lizard. 

is long and snakelike, often forked. With few exceptions 
the lizards deposit eggs, and despite popular prejudice all, 
with the exception of the Gila monster or Heloderma, are 
harmless. 

The Gila monster is found in Arizona, New Mexico, and 
Lower California. It is about two and a half feet in length 
and very sluggish, specimens when handled often refus- 
ing to move even when pushed along. They seem to 
prefer the hot, burning sands, and live upon such insects 
and small animals as they can capture there. That the 
bite of this lizard is dangerous has been proved on many 
occasions. An acquaintance of mine had tied a specimen 
to the back of his Mexican saddle, when, throwing his arm 
around, the creature seized his thumb in a bulldog-like 



THE LIZARDS 



107 



grip. Release without assistance was impossible, and the 
victim made a heroic ride to the nearest town, having 
a narrow escape. Animals, as rats and rabbits, die in a few 
moments after being bitten by the heloderma, the poison, 
unlike that of the rattlesnake, paralyzing the heart. The 
teeth have fissures ; but poison ducts have not been found. 

One of the 
most attractive 
lizards is the 
blue-tail, which 
I have often 
found along the 
base of the 
Sierra Madre 
Mountains. Its 
body is brown 
and green, the 
tail a beautiful 
turquoise-blue, a 
most conspicu- 
ous object. This 
lizard is so rapid 
and agile in its movements that it is rarely captured. 
The tail in nearly all lizards is a very conspicuous object, 
generally long and snakelike, often aiding the lizard in 
mimicking a vine ; again, as in the chameleon (Fig. 72), 
acting as a fifth limb, clinging to branches and serving 
the same purpose as that of the ringtailed monkey. These 
lizards are very slow of motion, relying for protection upon 
their marvelous power of changing color. Quite the 
reverse is the Iguana, one of the swiftest and largest of 




Fig. 72.— The Chameleon. 



io8 



THE LIZARDS 



all lizards, attaining a length of five feet. Its tail is its 
weapon of assault, the animal when enraged swinging it 
around with force sufficient to inflict severe injury. 




Fig. 73. — Iguana crossing a River. 
Observed by John G. Bell. 

In Figure 73 is shown a drawing made from a sketch 
after a description given me by the late John G. Bell, 
an old friend of Audubon. Mr. Bell, to illustrate the 
rapidity of motion of the iguana, stated that he once 




Fig. 74. — The Skink. 



startled an iguana on the side of a river, and that it dashed 
into the water and crossed it literally upon the surface, 
holding itself in the position shown by the rapidity of the 
movements of its feet. The toes of the iguana are 
extremely long and slender, very unlike those of the little 



THE LIZARDS 



109 




skink (Fig. 74), which are short and of little service. On 

the other hand, the geckos (Fig. 75) have toes provided 

with adhesive plates by which 

they cling to walls, having a 

seemingly marvelous faculty 

of running along overhead. 

This is true of many lizards, 

nearly all having delicate 

plates or disks which act fig. 75 .- the gecko. 

like suckers, some exuding a sticky secretion by which 

they readily run along, even on the polished surface of 

glass. 

The foot of the chameleon (Fig. 76) is adapted to clasping, 
and resembles some mechanical contrivance. Indeed, the 
entire animal has little or no appearance of life. Clinging 
to the limbs, its staring, unmovable eyes looking into space, 




Fig. 76. — Tongue of Chameleon. 



it seems to be a weird caricature of an animal, but 
suddenly out of its mouth shoots an extraordinary object, 
almost as long as the chameleon, — its tongue, — which 
strikes and secures its prey with absolute surety. 

An interesting mimic, though not in the sense of rapidly 
changing its color, is the so-called horned toad, which is 
really a lizard. The animal is seen in Figure 77 as one 



no 



THE LIZARDS 



usually observes it from above, a curious flat object seem- 
ingly covered with spines, those on the head being par- 
ticularly long. The lizard is brown, yellow, and white in 
color, adapting itself to the tint of its surroundings. 
When touched it flattens out, and is not a pleasing object, 
yet it is perfectly harmless. The spines are not used, and 
the little lizard makes an interesting pet, if the term can 
be applied to mere possession. I have experimented 

with them in the manner 
described at the beginning 
of this chapter, placing them 
in different compartments, 
where they soon adapted 
themselves to their surround- 
ings. They do not assume 
black or white tints, but the 
change is sufficient to afford 
them abundant protection. 
On the mesas of Southern 
California they are not uncom- 
mon objects of the roadside, 
those in the road resembling 
its dusty hue, while those 
among the brush are of a brighter tint. In the spring they 
deposit their eggs in the sand and desert them, the young 
appearing later, darting here and there among the verd- 
ure, minute editions of the parents. 

The horned lizard has no defense if one remarkable 
performance may be excepted. I noticed it first when my 
dog, a fox terrier, had caught one. The dog was rub- 
bing his nose in the sand and evidently annoyed, if not 




Fig. jj. — Horned Lizard. 



THE LIZARDS III 

hurt- The lizard had done something, but what? The 
dog was urged to approach it again, when the little 
lizard lowered its head and with a convulsive movement 
threw from its eyes or the eyelids a dark, bloodlike fluid. 
At first it was difficult to tell positively where it came 
from, but the eyes of the lizard were suffused with blood, 
or bloodshot. A piece of paper was then held up before 
the lizard, which soon discharged a volley of the fluid from 
its eye or lid, striking the paper with some force, a distance 
of a foot. On several occasions this was observed. A 
dealer who has handled thousands of lizards stated that he 
had seen them eject the fluid a distance of five or six feet. 
Whether this is intended as a defense or not it would be 
difficult to determine, but in effect it was sufficient to 
demoralize a dog, and in the meantime the lizard, by a 
curious side-shuffling movement, disappeared beneath the 
sand. 

Lizards are interesting pets. Those I have kept in con- 
finement displayed no little cunning. They often pretended 
to be dead ; the eyes would be closed, the legs drawn in, 
and the lizard could be lifted and dropped upon the sand 
without movement. The deception was perfect. There 
was but one weak point. The lizard was very ticklish, 
and when scratched, it immediately gave evidence of life, 
lifting that side higher and higher until it presented the 
comical appearance of standing upon its side with two feet 
in the air. At other times, when it thought it was not ob- 
served, it would dash away with the greatest speed, stop- 
ping the moment it was discovered, trusting then to its 
resemblance to the soil. 

Running constitutes the principal movement of the 



112 



THE LIZARDS 



majority of lizards, but a few appear to soar and have an 
especial arrangement which enables them to sustain them- 
selves in the air. This is particularly true of the flying 
gecko, which has winglike expansions on its sides, includ- 
ing the head, body, and tail, a sail which expands w T hen 
the animal leaps into the air, holding it up like a parachute 
after the manner of the flying squirrel. These lizards 
are very attractive in shape and color, and when darting 

through the air they resemble 
gorgeous insects. 

A better adaptation for soaring 
is seen in the dracos (Fig. 78), 
commonly called flying dragons. 
They have a veritable pair of wings 
extending on either side of the 
body, as shown. These are folded 
when the animal is not moving or 
lying, as is its custom, on a limb ; 
but does an insect appear, the 
lizard bounds into the air, one of 
the most gorgeous objects of the 
East Indian forests, and with 
wings extended it soars from tree to tree in pursuit of its 
prey, resembling a bird of radiant plumage. One of the 
lizards most remarkable for this is the frilled lizard of 
Australia, which has a curious frill beneath and around the 
head, which it raises when alarmed. Another lizard, the 
moloch, is completely studded with enormous spikes or 
spines, the porcupine of the group. 

An illustration of the wide distribution of lizards is seen 
in those of the Galapagos Islands, near the equator, about 




Fig. 78. — Flying Draco. 



THE LIZARDS I13 

five hundred miles west of South America. Of the two 
kinds found there, both live on vegetation ; but one lives 
along the shore , rarely leaving it, feeding on seaweed, 
while the other never approaches the ocean, and subsists 
on cactus. The sea lizard can remain an hour below the 
surface, is black in color, and about three feet in length, an 
inoffensive creature. The land form of the same lizard 
is very sluggish ; it lives in caves, and when feeding has 
been known to drop 
asleep and allow 
birds to perch upon 
its back without ob- 
jection. 

Among the giants 
of the tribe are the 
true water lizards 
found in Asia, Africa, 

and Australia. The 

_ _. Fig. 79. — The Glass Snake. 

Indian water lizard 

is often four feet in length, the tail being long and 
very slender. It frequents the river banks, and is hunted 
by the natives, who have dogs trained for the purpose. 
When cornered it often turns on its pursuers and makes a 
desperate resistance. The monitor, one of the largest, 
attaining a length of five feet, is found along the Nile, 
where it preys upon the eggs of crocodiles and does much 
to keep these dangerous animals in abeyance. Among 
the lizards are the so-called glass snakes (Fig. 79), which 
have no feet. Popular fancy has endowed them with 
miraculous properties, one of which is that when at- 
tacked the animal breaks in many parts and separates 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. 8 




li 4 



THE TURTLES 



to join later on. It is needless to say that this belongs 

to the realm of fiction. 

The strange double walkers (Fig. 80) are lizards without 

feet, which have a 
singular habit of 
running backward 
with all the ease 
which they display 
in wriggling ahead. 
Nature seems to 
have been profli- 
gate in the multi- 
tude of forms with 
which these ani- 
mals are endowed, 
ranging from the 
Iguana to the help- 
Fig. 80. — The Double Walker. less Chirotes, with 

the body shaped 
like a worm with two miniature limbs near the head. 




THE TURTLES 

The first impression obtained by looking at a turtle is 
that it lives in a box, especially if the example is the com- 
mon box turtle (Fig. 81), which goes lumbering along 
until touched, when it drops heavily from its pedestal of 
feet, the latter, its tail, and head all disappearing as though 
by magic beneath a domed shell, which is a barrier and 
protection against almost every enemy. 



THE TURTLES 



115 



The boxlike nature of 
the turtle is better 
shown in the skeleton 
(Fig. 82), in which the 
frame of the animal is 
seen. A marked differ- 
ence is observed between 
the skeleton of the turtle 
and that of the lizard. 




Fig. 81. —The Box Turtle. 



The latter is light, and the 



bones are slender, but that of the turtle is short, the 




Fig. 82. — The Skeleton of a Turtle. 



u6 



THE TURTLES 




Fig. 83. — The Hawkbill Turtle. 



bones are not only heavy but nearly all seem to be con- 
nected, or fused together, giving the animal great solidity, 
so that it can not bend its back in any way, the only 
movable portions being the limbs, head, and tail. In 

a word, the turtle ap- 
pears to be boxed up. 
Over its back it has a 
shell formed of scales 
of a horny consistence, 
as in the hawkbill (Fig. 
83), often of great 
beauty when polished ; 
or the shell is soft, as 
in the soft-shelled turtle. The ribs, instead of being light 
and flexible, are broad and joined together and in turn 
covered by the shell, the entire upper portion being called 
the carapace. Below this are the intestines, which are 
protected by another box 
cover, a large horny 
breastplate called the 
plastron. The position 
of the latter is seen in 
Figure 84, which shows 
the plastron made up of 
ten plates fitting together 
into the shell, or cara- 
pace, of a box tortoise. 

The head of the turtle is wedge shaped, the powerful 
jaws being toothless, but provided with horny beaks like 
those of birds, with which they do great execution. The 
eyes are provided with an upper and a lower lid, and 




Fig. 84. — The Lower Shell of 
a Turtle. 



THE TURTLES 



117 



a third like that of birds, called a nictitating membrane, 
which is semitransparent and moves over the eye as a 




Fig. 85. — The Atlantic Green Turtle. 

protection possibly from the glare of the sun. The lungs 
are well developed, air being gulped down, and the other 
organs are similar to those of the cold-blooded animals. 




Fig. 86. — Section of a Turtle. 



The turtles are widely distributed, being found in the 
desert, in secluded pools, and far out to sea. The marine 
forms are the largest. They have well-developed flippers 
for swimming and are entirely at home in the water. The 



Il8 THE TURTLES 

flippers of a swimming turtle are shown in Figure 85, while 
those of a land form are seen in Figure 86. In this figure is 
also shown the position of the neck bones when the turtle 
withdraws its head, being doubled in a U shape. Among 
the sea turtles the green turtle (Fig. 85) is the most valu- 
able. It is a large and vigorous animal, weighing from 
two hundred to eight hundred pounds. 

In early spring, or May, they come ashore at certain 
islands to lay their eggs, selecting moonlight nights. 
If the coast is clear, they climb up the beach to a point 
above high water, and there dig a hole with their flippers 
two or three feet deep, in which the eggs are laid, covered, 
and then deserted. The turtle displays more or less skill, 
as she never returns to the water directly from the nest, so 
that she can be trailed, but crawls along the sands and de- 
scends a hundred or more feet away. At such times I 
have lain on the sands with a companion, waiting until the 
turtles reached the high beach, then springing out to seize 
them. Once on their backs, the animals are helpless. 

Figure 85 gives an excellent view of a certain green turtle 
as it crawled along the beach. The moment the enemy 
was observed it turned and scrambled for the water. 
Seizing it by the ridge of the shell between the flippers, 
the turtlers tried to lift it, sometimes upsetting it at the 
first trial, again being knocked over or dragged along by 
the powerful animal, which finally escaped, as a seven- 
hundred-pound turtle can carry two men or more upon its 
back. I have struggled with many in this way on the 
beautiful moonlight nights among the Florida Keys, but 
never was bitten, nor did I ever see a green turtle display 
the slightest anger or resentment. The animals devoted 



THE TURTLES IIQ 

their energies to escape, beating the sand with their flip- 
pers. On a certain island a large one escaped from- a 
party of three. On the reef the green turtles were served 
as "beef," and dozens were kept in corrals until needed. 

The prevailing method of taking green turtles on the 
open reef is by pegging. The turtles are found sleeping 
on the bottom of shallow lagoons, standing out in high 
relief, or feeding upon certain seaweed, occasionally rising 
to breathe. The boatman sculls his dinghy carefully up 
to the animal and, as it rises, hurls his long-handled spear. 
The latter is a three-sided, pointed peg ; this enters the 
shell and is retained by suction, the turtler holding by the 
long line to which the peg is attached. This method of 
taking the animals is harmless, as the turtles are uninjured. 
Many of those shipped to the North as food are caught in 
this way. 

The eggs of the green turtle, as those of all the others, 
are hatched by the sun, and the little ones immediately 
make their way to the water, where many of them fall 
victims to predatory birds and fishes. The baby turtles, 
though not over an inch or so in length, have no little 
intelligence. I once kept twenty or thirty on the floor of 
a room, one end of which overhung the water, from which 
led a door. The turtles in some way knew that this was 
the " water end," as they congregated about it, all ready 
to fall overboard when the door opened. When they were 
taken away, they immediately returned. The green turtle 
ranges from Brazil to Cape Hatteras and on both sides of 
the continent, but its home is in the warm waters of the 
tropics, a favorite nesting place being Loggerhead and 
other keys of the Tortugas group. 



120 



THE TURTLES 



Uglier than the green turtle and built on clumsier lines, 
is the loggerhead, often taken on the Florida reef. This 
turtle is the bulldog of the tribe, and will bite when en- 
raged, but it has little chance with the large sharks. One 
specimen, which was caught, had all its flippers bitten 
off in a struggle with the marauders of the Gulf. Its 
habits are similar to those of the green turtle, and it is 
turned on the beaches at the same time ; but it is a flesh 
eater, as is the hawkbill (Fig. 83), though not entirely. 
A specimen that I kept as a pet would eat conch meat 
and seaweed with equal avidity. This specimen was found 
floating on the surface of a lagoon on the outer reef, 
its head wound with the blue tentacles of the physalia or 
Portuguese man-of-war, which had stung it so severely that 
it was helpless and apparently paralyzed. In the illustra- 
tion the large and beautiful scales may be seen, which are 
often taken from the living turtle — a cruel operation — 
and later made into combs and the many objects in which 

tortoise shell is 
employed. This is 
the turtle that 
is caught by the 
fish remora, re- 
ferred to in a pre- 
vious chapter. 

The rarest and 
most interesting 
among the sea 
forms is the 
leatherback turtle (Fig. 87), which lives on the high 
seas. It is the giant of the tribe, attaining a weight of 




p IG . 87. — Leatherback Turtle. 



THE TURTLES 121 

over one thousand pounds. Its back has a leathery ap- 
pearance, is without scales, and has pronounced longitudi- 
nal ridges which add to its singular appearance. The 
animal is rarely seen. Some years ago a specimen six feet 
in length was captured in Burmah, but not without a 
struggle. It dragged six men down to the water's edge 
from its nest, where it had been surprised, and was con- 
quered only when twelve fishermen seized it. The nest, 
when examined, held one hundred, eggs, each being one 
and five eighths inches in diameter. 

With the exceptions above mentioned, the turtles are 
confined to fresh-water streams and pools. Stealing 
through the trees and carefully approaching some pond, 
one may watch the turtles of various kinds, some upon 
the muddy shore, but most upon submerged logs or masses 
of vegetation, where they have crawled to bask in the sun. 
Many are richly marked in yellow, red, and black ; some 
have light domed shells, like the box turtle ; others are 
flat. The soft-shelled turtle is an interesting example 
of the latter, its shell being soft and reminding one of 
India rubber. These have long necks and pointed noses, 
which are often seen moving to and fro above the mud, 
not unlike the heads of 
snakes. Specimens 
which I have taken in 
the St. John's River, 
on a common fishing 
line, were over fifteen fig. 88. — snapping turtle. 

inches in length, vicious 

creatures, calling to mind the snapping turtle (Fig. 88), the 
most aggressive of the tribe. One kept in confinement 




122 THE TURTLES 

displayed the most vindictive disposition. Its long, snake- 
like neck was miraculously curled in the shell, but when 
the animal was angered or disturbed, out would shoot the 
extraordinary head, the ferocious jaws biting with all the 
vigor of those of a bulldog, taking pieces out of the oar 
or stick that happened to be in the way, and holding on 
with a tenacity born of brute strength. 

Turtles undoubtedly live to a great age. One, a box 
turtle (Fig. 81), marked in 1760, or about that year, was 
found on the same estate one hundred years later, the 
marks or initials still being visible. Similar instances are 
well known. 

The terrapin is one of the most valuable of the small 
turtles ; the musk turtle is the most disagreeable, as it 
possesses a strong musklike odor. This little creature is 
almost always covered with a growth of long green grass, 
which has the appearance of hair and which serves to con- 
ceal it. The common gopher turtle is found far out on 
the Florida reef, four or five specimens living on Garden 
Key. A similar form is found on the arid Calif ornian desert, 
where it lives on cactus and other vegetation, probably 
rarely seeing water. This turtle, though not over eighteen 
or twenty inches in length, has not only borne a man's 
weight, but carried one along the floor. 

South America, especially the swamps of the Amazon, 
is the land of turtles. Here they are found in vast num- 
bers, some attaining a length of three feet. So plentiful 
are they that they constitute an important feature of the 
food of the natives, regular weekly hunts being organized, 
each house having its turtle corral. Nearly all the turtles 
are protected by their resemblance to their surroundings, 



THE CROCODILES 



123 



evenjthe desert tortoise resembling a rock. But the most 
remarkable example of a protected form is seen in the 
bearded turtle, Chelys matamata. Its shell is made up of 
remarkable pyramids ; its neck is very long and snakelike, 
and covered with excrescences which resemble plants, the 
head is pointed and recalls that of a guinea hen more than 
anything else, having a pointed, beaklike nostril and 
curious, earlike appendages. This queer turtle conceals 
itself in the mud or bushes, with its head standing upright 
among the vegetation, so cleverly imitating it that few 
animals would detect the imposition ; but if a young bird or 
small animal pass within reach, the strange plant shoots 
out at it with great velocity and with a fatal result. 

The turtles are all valuable to man. Many serve as 
food, while the greater number are scavengers, many a 
forest pool being kept pure by the little turtles that 
inhabit it. 

THE CROCODILES 



The crocodiles are so associated with the Nile and the 
Ganges, where they attain an enormous size, that it is a 




Fig. 89. — Head of a Florida Crocodile, 



124 



THE CROCODILES 



surprise to some to learn that 
there is a true crocodile in Amer- 
ica, especially interesting from 
the fact that it is partly a salt- 
water form, having been seen out 
on the reef evidently* on a fishing 
expedition. 

The head of one of these reptiles 
is shown in Figure 89, taken from 
the photograph of a specimen 
which caused the captor no little 
trouble. The animal was fourteen 
feet in length and was speared and 
hauled into the boat. It was so 
large that the seat was taken out 
and placed on its body, on which 
the harpooner sat as he rowed to 
camp, delighted at taking so large 
and fine a specimen. But the 
crocodile was "playing possum," as 
it suddenly renewed its life and 
activity, and with a single sweep 
of the tail cleared the boat, tipping 
it over, only to be caught again 
after much difficulty. 

The crocodiles are water animals, 
with powerful jaws, in which the 
large teeth are firmly fixed ; the tail 
is long and powerful, well shown in the skeleton (Fig. 90), 
a perfect swimming and defensive organ ; the four legs are 
adapted for either walking or swimming, the claws being 




THE CROCODILES 



125 




more or less webbed, as shown in Figure 89. The body is 
incased in a skin made up of plates, as seen in this figure. 
The heart has four chambers ; the eyes and ears are pro- 
tected by movable lids. Thus endowed with powerful 
teeth, prodigious strength, and a long and powerful tail, 
the crocodiles are animals to be dreaded. 

They are found in the tropical and semitropical regions 
of many countries and are divided into three distinct 
classes which are readily 
recognized. First comes 
the gavial (Fig. 91), the 
most dangerous of the 
race, with long, slender 
muzzle filled with sharp 
and powerful teeth. This 
reptile attains a length of 
twenty feet, and in many 
of the rivers of India is a 
veritable man-eater. 

Crocodiles are found in 
almost every continent, 
even in some of the great islands, as Hayti, but they are at 
home in the Nile and around the equator, where, in places, 
they literally swarm, the muddy banks of streams being cov- 
ered with them, of all sizes up to twenty feet. They lie 
in the water by the banks, with their noses just above the 
surface. When an antelope or other animal approaches, 
the reptile sinks and swims beneath the water, then with 
a rush seizes the unfortunate creature by the nose and 
hauls it under. Human beings are sometimes seized on 
the river bank, and children have been knocked into the 




Fig. 91. —The Gavial. 



126 THE CROCODILES 

water by the crocodile's tail, while men swimming streams 
at night are sometimes victims of the man-eaters. I once 
observed the method of attack of a large alligator, which 
illustrates that of the entire group. A man approached it 
from behind, when, without warning, the animal struck him 
a violent blow just below the knees, hurling him in the 




Fig. 92. — Open Mouth of a Crocodile. 

direction of the wide-open mouth, which was turned to 
meet him. The man was not bitten, but it is easy to con- 
ceive that he might have been knocked into the animal's 
mouth. 

The crocodile lays eggs which it deposits on the moist 
banks of swamps, where they are often hunted (Fig. 93). 
An interesting bird is associated with the crocodile of the 
Nile. It is called the Nile bird, and performs a valuable 
service to the great animal; that is, ridding its mouth of 
the flies which infest it. When the crocodile comes out 



THE CROCODILES 



127 



to feed, its unsavory prey attracts millions of flies, and 
after the feast the animal opens wide its jaws, which 
appear as in Figure 92. The little bird, Pluvianw cegyp- 
tic us, hops into the dreadful mouth which spares no other 
creature, and begins to devour the troublesome insects, 
rarely or never being molested by the crocodile. 

The West Indian crocodiles, or caymans, have been 
known to attack people, but they are by no means so 
ferocious as the In- 
dian and African 
species. They were 
formerly very com- 
mon in the West 
India Islands, but 
rarely attained there 
a length of over 
twelve feet. The 
eggs were deposited 
in the sand and cov- 
ered, the female 
watching them to 

some extent, and at times uttering a cry like the bark- 
ing of a dog, especially when the young were appearing 
(Fig. 93). 

In Jamaica crocodiles eighteen feet in length have been 
measured. A certain ranch at St. Thomas had been 
devastated at times of its small live stock by a cayman, 
and every method had been tried to kill it, but to no 
purpose. It was reported to be the largest one ever seen 
on the island, and had become very proficient in snapping 
up birds. The animal was shot several times, but always 




Fig. 93. - 



■ Young Crocodile leaving 
the Egg. 



128 THE CROCODILES 

escaped. One night an African met the crocodile face to 
face, and probably having in mind the reward which had 
been offered, sprang at the animal before it could turn, 
landing fairly upon it, seizing its fore legs and lifting 
them over its back. This threw the cayman's nose 
into the sand and rendered it helpless. In vain it struck 
powerful blows with its tail and endeavored to leap. The 
man kept his seat and resolutely held the helpless animal 
until help came, when it was shot through the head. 

The alligator is the third type of crocodiles, and a 
familiar animal in America, being found in numbers in the 




Fig. 94. —The Alligator. 

Florida swamps, where it is so assiduously hunted for its 
skin that its extinction is only a matter of time. In general 
appearance it resembles the crocodile, and twenty years 
ago I saw the shores of the St. John's River dotted with 
them, where now they are almost unknown. The alli- 
gator is found in the swamps of the Gulf States, lying 
on the shore during the day, with its head toward the 
water, ready to slide into it at the slightest warning. 
Much of its time is spent basking in the hot sun, but at 
night it is active, swimming about after its prey, the various 
small animals and fishes. So active is the alligator that it 
can capture large fishes with ease. It is very partial to 



THE BIRDS 129 

dogjmeat, and it is said that the barking, yelping, or 
whining of a dog will attract alligators from far and wide. 
When the prey is seized, the alligator holds it firmly and 
sinks to the bottom, allowing the animal to drown, and 
then devours it. 



BIRDS 
THE BIRDS 

Of all the animals the birds appeal to man as the most 
beautiful and companionable. This is due to the fact that 
they are always before us, the most humble dooryard 
being the resort or home of one or many different kinds. 

The birds are the companions of man and serve a 
benign purpose, beautifying the forest glades with their 
tints and colors, and filling the air with the melody of their 
song. Birds are found almost everywhere, from the 
equator to the farthest north, or the shores of the Polar 
seas, and are everywhere valuable allies to man. They 
have many resemblances to the reptiles, but differ from all 
other animals in a single particular — their bodies are 
covered with feathers instead of hair. If we hold a bird 
and some other animal of the same size in the hand, we are 
at once impressed with the difference in weight ; the bird 
is much the lighter. To explain this we must glance at the 
skeleton of a typical bird (Fig. 95); here we see that the 
skeleton appears to be built for lightness. The bones, 
which in the mammals are filled with marrow, are hollow — 
so many air chambers to aid in floating the bird in the air. 

The spine is light. The bills, except in certain extinct 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 9 



130 



THE BIRDS 



forms, are toothless, and adapted to the wants of the 
owner (Fig. 96). Some are short; some long, like those of 
the humming bird ; others curved and powerful, as in the 
vulture. In moving the lower jaw of a bird we find that it 




Fig. 95. — Skeleton of a Sparrow. 

q, quadrate bone, peculiar to reptiles and some amphibia ; d, breastbone ; m, merry- 
thought or collar bone ; c, coracoid bone, over which the tendon works to pull 
up the wing; p, plowshare bone, on which the tail grows. Wing bones: 
a, upper arm; e, elbow; fa, forearm; w, wrist; /, thumb; ka, hand. Leg 
bones : th t thigh bone ; k t knee ; /, lower part of leg ; h, heel ; / foot. 



is not attached to the skull as in the mammals, but to a bone 
(q\ called the quadrate — in this resembling the reptiles. 
The neck is made up of from nine to twenty-four 
separate bones or vertebrae, so deftly connected that it can 
be twisted in almost any direction. This remarkable pro- 



THE BIRDS 



131 



vision of nature enables the bird, having no hands, to 
preen its feathers on any part of its body, and explains the 
faultless neatness noticed in almost all birds. The dorsal 
vertebrae, which constitute the back, are joined together in 
the flying birds, thus giving stability to the body. In the 
non-flying birds, as the emu and ostrich, their bones move 
one upon another. The tip end of this chain of bones is 





® 




CS> 








Fig. 96. — Beaks of Birds. 

called the tail, and the bones which connect the backbone 
to the .tail are joined together, being called the sacrum. 
This, joined with other bones, forms what is called the pel- 
vic arch, which, assuming that we are following the parts 
of the skeleton in order, leads us to the limbs, which are 
attached to it. 

The fore limbs of birds, which correspond to the arms of 
man, are adapted to flight and as weapons. The thigh is 



132 



THE BIRDS 



attached to the pelvic arch ; then comes the tibia and its 
small fibula. The knee (k) is very high. The foot (/) has 
two, four, or five toes. The latter vary even more than the 
bills, ranging from the clutching claws of the eagle to the 
swimming foot of the duck, and from the clinging claw of 
the hawk to the scratching apparatus of the hen. Some of 
these claws or feet in their variety are shown in Figure 97. 
How a bird can cling to its roost or perch and sleep would 
be a mystery did we not know that it has a peculiar 





S^ 







10 11 

Fig. 97. — Claws of Birds. 




arrangement of muscles, which, when the bird is resting, 
draw the claws tightly about the perch. 

The bird's tail ends in the plowshare bone (Fig. 95, p) and 
supports a wonderful array of feathers, resplendent in the 
peacock or trogons, and sometimes six or eight feet long 
in the cock ; a specimen in the American Museum having 
a remarkable tail many feet in length. The breastbone or 
sternum {b) is one of the largest. To this the wing mus- 
cles are fastened, and in the flying birds, where great muscu- 
lar power is desired, it is said to be keeled to offer a greater 



THE BIRDS 



133 



surface ; but in the birds like the ostrich, which do not fly, 

it is flat. The "lucky bone" is formed by the clavicles 

(;;/) and near them we see the arm, or wing bones. The 

elbow is at e, the wrist at w, and 

there is a rudimentary thumb which 

supports what is called the false 

wing. This portion of the wing 

corresponds to the hand, and three 

rudimentary fingers may generally 

be found, agreeing with the first 

and third fingers of a man's hand. 

But the " hand " is now used for an 

entirely different purpose. It is 

provided with soft, pliable, fanlike 

objects called feathers, by which 

the birds dart through the air 

and sustain themselves during long 

journeys. 

Without feathers the bird would 
be a pitiful object; but clothe it, 
and we have one of the most 
beautiful of all animals. The 
feathers are colored, with a marvel- 
ous array of tints and shades, each 
feather being a study (Fig. 98). 
Each one grows from a little sack 
which holds the quill (a). Then 
comes the shaft (fr) which is horny, 
grooved, and filled w r ith seeming wood pith. From the sides 
of this spring barbs, all of which unite or join to form a flat 
surface when the bird attempts to fly, in which we may 




Fig. 98. — A Feather. 

a, quill; b, shaft; c t vane ; 
d, down. 



134 



THE BIRDS 




observe one of the most wonderful appliances of nature. 

Each barb has numerous little barbules (Fig. 99), which 
hook into those on the opposite barb. 
In some birds there are no barbules, 
and the feathers are called plumes, 
as those of the ostrich. This won- 
derful coat of feathers sheds water, 
being provided with oil which the bird 
takes from a gland near the tail. When 
birds are seen 
" p r eenin g," 
they are often 
oiling their 
feathers, which 
a 
water-tight roof 
to protect the 
sensitive body. 
It is not necessary for birds to 

have food prepared for them, as 

their digestive apparatus (Fig. 100) 

accomplishes this work. Food, as 

seeds, is eaten whole and passes 

into a crop (c), and from here into 

the true stomach, then reaches the 

gizzard {g\ where it is ground up 

as thoroughly as though teeth had 

been employed. Many birds aid in 

this by swallowing pebbles and sand. The birds are 

warm-blooded animals. Their hearts are four-cham- 
bered. They breathe by taking in air at the nostrils. 



Fig. 99. — Barb from a thus become 
Goose Quill. 



Showing the hooklets 
highly magnified. 




Fig. 100. 

Digestive Apparatus of a 
Bird : c, crop ; g, gizzard ; 
illustrating passage of food 
from the mouth. 




THE BIRDS 135 

The lungs are two in number. The latter are filled with 
large air passages which lead to air sacs, and these in 
turn connect with the bones, so that the bird can literally 
inflate itself like a balloon. The air passes down the 
trachea, enters the lungs, and there aerates the blood, then 
passing into the air sacs to lighten the bird in its flight. 
In this manner the bird is enabled to change its specific 
gravity at will. There are nine of these balloons or air 
sacs in almost every bird : two in 
the abdomen, four in the thorax, 
and three near the lucky bone. The 
brain of birds (Fig. 101 ) is larger than 
that of reptiles, and it has none of 
the convolutions which we shall ob- 

FiG. 101. 

serve in the mammals. 

1, brain of a bird; 2, eye, 

The eyes of birds are wonderful showing nictitating mem- 
organs. Vultures and hawks have 

remarkable vision. The eye of the owl is so keen that 
it can distinguish small objects at night, while the 
eagles can stare at the blinding sun without winking. 
No more striking object can be imagined than the eye 
of some birds. All possess a third eyelid, and many 
have a ring of hard plates by which they can adjust their 
vision to objects near or far. 

The birds increase by eggs (Fig. 102), which are hatched 
either by the male, female, or both, or by the heat of the 
sun. More or less elaborate nests are built for the young. 
Some of these are in trees ; others are in or on the ground ; 
sometimes the eggs are even buried in the sand. As a 
rule the young are very helpless at first, as in the case of 
chickens; but the young of the maleo are able at once to 



136 



ANCIENT BIRDS 



take care of themselves, and can almost fly at the moment 
they are hatched. 




Fig. 102. — Longitudinal Section of Hen's Egg before Incubation. 

a y yolk, showing concentric layers; a', its semi-fluid center, consisting of a white 
granular substance — the whole yolk is inclosed in the vitelline membrane: 
b, inner dense part of the albumen; b\ outer, thinner part ; c, the chalazse, or 
albumen, twisted by the revolutions of the yolk ; d, double shell-membrane, split 
at the large end to form the chamber,/; e, the shell; h, the white spot, or 
cicatricula. 

In all, about seven hundred species of birds are known 
in America north of Mexico; and throughout the world 
over eight thousand species have been recorded. 



ANCIENT BIRDS 

There is no more fascinating pastime for young or old 
than the study of fossil or extinct animals. Almost every 
section of the country produces certain rocks which ages 
ago were the shores or beds of streams or the bottoms of 
oceans, now hardened into rock, yet bearing the impres- 
sion upon their surfaces of the footprints of every animal 
that walked or crawled over them, preserving the shells 



ANCIENT BIRDS 



137 



of living things that formed a portion of the animate 
world at the time. The accompanying slab (Fig. 103) well 
illustrates this, as here is a section of a mud flat which 
formed a part of a shore untold ages ago. Even the sun 




Fig. 103. — Fossil Footprints. 



cracks are seen, and among them the footprints of some 
huge froglike creature that wandered along in search of 
food. 

The rocks of yesterday, then, are the records of the 
time, and the geologist unfolds and reads them like a 
book. It would not be surprising if birds were found pre- 



138 



ANCIENT BIRDS 



served in this way, and within a few years some remark- 
able discoveries have been made showing that the birds 
of former ages differed very much from those of to-day 
and resembled the reptiles. One of the most interesting 
(Fig. 104) is called the archaeopteryx, its remains being 
found in the oolitic rocks of Germany. The bird died, fell 
upon the muddy flats of some lagoon perhaps, and was 
covered by layer after layer of mud which in time hard- 




FlG. 104.— ARCH/EOrTERYX. 
Tail and detached bones. 



ened, preserving the bones so perfectly that experts have 
little difficulty in making a picture of the bird or a resto- 
ration showing it exactly as it appeared in life. It was 
a most remarkable creature, differing from all living birds 
by . possessing on the wing two free claws by which it 
could cling to trees or rocks. The most extraordinary 
feature was the tail, which was like that of a lizard, made 
up of about twenty-one vertebrae ; in other words, it was 
long, like that of the anolis. Each bone supported a pair 



ANCIENT BIRDS 



139 



of quill feathers, so that the tail resembled a huge feather, 
and was in reality the rudder of this strange living craft, 
the oldest form of the bird known. This singular creature 




Fig. 105. — Skeleton of Hesperornis regalis, restored. (After Marsh.) 
A bird with teeth. About one tenth of the natural size. 



had teeth like those of a reptile, and preyed upon small 
animals. 

Western North America many years ago possessed 
strange birds with teeth (Fig. 105). The hesperornis was 



140 



ANCIENT BIRDS 



a gigantic diver as tall as a boy of ten years of age, or 
about five feet. Its wings were small and useless, showing 
that it was a diver and swimmer. The tail was shorter 
than in the long-tailed archaeopterix, and the jaws were 
armed with sharp teeth set in sockets. These strange 

creatures preyed upon the 
countless fishes in the shallow 
seas, whose remains are also 
preserved, and were among 
the most remarkable forms of 
a literal age of wonders. The 
ostrich is considered a giant 
bird to-day, but it is a dwarf 
in comparison with some of 
the strange birds of yesterday. 
In the Eocene of Paris has 
been found a bird called gas- 
tornis, which attained a height 
of ten feet, its colossal size 
being well shown when com- 
pared with that of a man 
(Fig. 1 06). It was a link be- 
tween the waders and the 
ostriches. The largest and 
heaviest of the birds have 
been found in New Zealand and are supposed to have 
lived with the early human beings of that country of 
strange inhabitants. The bones of the moa, as the bird 
is called, have been found beneath old camps, showing 
that they had been charred, and it is mentioned in the 
native legends. 




Fig. 106.— Restoration of Gas- 
tornis eduardsii. (After Meu- 
nier.) 



ANCIENT BIRDS 



141 



The remains of the moa 
(Fig. 107) were found in what 
is known as the Quaternary 
period, and their discovery- 
created great excitement in 
the world of bird lovers. 

The very first accounts of 
the birds were related by 
the natives, and finally, in 
clearing out an ancient swamp, 
some bones were found which 
proved that feathered giants 





FlG. 108. — Dinornis giganteus, X 3V 

From a photograph of a skeleton in 
Christchurch Museum, New Zea- 
land. 



had indeed lived there not 
so very long before. The 

Fig 107 Wingless Birds of New dinornis, as one was called, 
Zealand: The Giant Moa (Pa- 
lapteryx) and the Tiny apteryx. was twelve feet in height 

The moa is no longer to be found alive. (Fig. I08), and ltS Colossal 



142 LIVING GIANTS 

" drum stick," which was five feet long, was as ponderous 
as the thigh bone of a large horse. 

"In Madagascar another huge bird, the epinornis, has been 
found. Its egg was six times the size of an ostrich egg, 
hence one would have been a burden for a strong man 
and could have afforded a meal for twenty or thirty men. 
These giants became extinct but a few years ago, com- 
paratively speaking — a fact proved by the discovery of the 
feet with the dried skin still clinging to them and huge 
eggs with the gigantic chick still in them. Many rumors 
have been circulated to the effect that these birds still live 
in Madagascar, and several expeditions have gone in search 
of them, but the eggs alone have been found to tell the 
story. 

LIVING GIANTS 

The days of giant birds have not passed. In Africa, 
and now successfully introduced into America, lives the 
largest existing bird, the ostrich (Fig. 109), one of the most 
interesting animals. Tall, powerful, fleet of limb, beau- 
tifully adorned with plumes, the ostrich stands as an ex- 
ample of the largest living bird. It lives near the edges 
of the desert, and is so fleet of foot that it can be caught 
only by natives who run it down on horseback. 

When seen in confinement the ostrich presents an ab- 
surd appearance. Its huge body, balanced on long legs, 
conveys the impression of a very clumsy animal, while the 
walk, a tilting, teetering, mincing gait, but adds to this 
impression. The neck is long, the eyes are large, with a 
peculiarly guileless and innocent staring expression. The 



LIVING GIANTS 



143 



head is extremely small in proportion to the size of the 
bird, and when fully raised stands eight or even nine feet 
from the ground. This may be considered the greatest 
height the bird attains. Indeed, it is vastly different from 
the robin or the birds that fly. Its bones are colossal, 
filled with marrow instead of air. It has no keel for the 



•ms 


^^--- 










r 


1 & 




Fig. 109. — Ostriches. 



wing muscles, as the wings are not used for flight, but 
merely as sails when it runs, or to toss dust and gravel 
over itself. 

The ostrich has a peculiar foot, bearing but two toes, 
one longer than the other, and a sharp claw. This is its 
chief weapon, and I have seen a large bird strike so fiercely 
that it almost crushed a heavy board fence, and such 
blows have more than once been fatal to natives. The 



144 LIVING GIANTS 

blow is given forward, and is a front strike, the reverse of 
that of a horse, and having a downward tendency is a cut 
as well, often disemboweling the enemy. The bird can 
also strike a powerful blow with its beak. It has a most 
remarkable appetite. 

Within a rifle shot of my home in Southern California 
there are over one hundred ostriches of all ages, of African 
parentage, and the ostrich farm has taken its place among 
the important industries of the State. The birds are fed 
upon alfalfa grass and vegetables, and have an especial 
fondness for oranges, which they swallow whole, the large 
fruit being seen passing down the long and narrow throat. 
I have seen an ostrich feeding from a plank platform about 
which scores of English sparrows were crowding. When 
the food was exhausted, the ostrich began picking up the 
sparrows, swallowing them, feathers and all, half a dozen 
disappearing in this way before the birds noticed that their 
numbers were being depleted, so cleverly did the giant 
pick them up. At the Pasadena ostrich farm, the birds 
have been known to swallow many kinds of objects from 
screws to pocket knives, while one bird snatched a lighted 
pipe from the hand of a man and swallowed it. 

The speed of the ostrich is proverbial. Only a fast 
horse can overtake it, the bird covering thirty miles an 
hour when hard pressed. The eggs are large, weighing 
about three pounds apiece. The nest is a mere depression 
in the sand in which about thirty eggs are deposited. 
During the day in their native wilds the sun heats them, 
but in Southern California, where the heat is not tropical, 
the birds sit, the male and female taking turns ; the female, 
sitting during the day, being relieved by the male at night. 



LIVING GIANTS 145 

The voice of the male is so resonant, so like the roar of 
a lion, that it is heard over a mile distant. The young 
ostriches or chicks soon after hatching are comical objects, 
apparently covered with bristles. They are carefully cared 
for by the mother, being fed at first upon the spoiled eggs 
if there are any. 

The ostrich is one of the most valuable of birds. The 
plumes are the feathers of the wing or tail which are not 
connected by the little barbules referred to, so are loose or 
fluffy. The plumes are made up into various articles for 
wear, and are the only feathers that should be worn, for 
their use does not necessitate the destruction of the bird, as 
in the case of others, the plumes being merely pulled out 
or carefully cut off about the time they are ripe or ready 
to be shed. At such times the bird is driven with others 
into a narrow pen ; its head is covered with a bag so that 
it will not kick, and the plumes are removed with the 
greatest care. 

The strength of an ostrich can be compared only to that 
of a horse. In Southern California two birds have been 
harnessed to a buggy driven by two men, while a single 
bird carried a full-grown man upon its back with perfect 
ease. 

The ostrich is represented in America by the rhea or 
South American ostrich (Fig. no), a much smaller bird 
found in the great Pampas districts. It is about three and 
a half feet in height, and has three toes instead of two. 
The head and neck are covered with downy feathers, there 
being none on the tail as in the true ostrich. Many of 
its habits are similar to those of the true ostrich, and it has 
the remarkable faculty of swimming rivers when chased. 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — IO 



146 LIVING GIANTS 

A large and singular bird, the emu (Fig. in), is found 
in Australia, where it is hunted by the natives, also by the 
wild dogs. It is jet-black, the feathers resembling wiry 
hairs made of whalebone. Its body is almost as large as 
that of the ostrich, but its legs are shorter, so that the bird 
is not over seven feet high. It also has three toes upon 




Fig. ho. — Rhea and Young. 

each foot. The wings are rudimentary or useless in flight ; 
yet the bird has been observed trying to place its head 
beneath them, a habit which holds possibly with all birds 
having large wings. 

Attaining a height of five feet, is the cassowary, a large, 
powerful ostrichlike bird of the island of Ceram and others 
of the East Indian archipelago. Its feathers are hairlike 



LIVING GIANTS 



147 



and black, the wing being represented by a long series of 
fine cylindrical shafts with which the bird when enraged 
can strike a heavy blow. The head of the cassowary 




Fig. hi. — Emu. 



appears to be ornamented by a crown, in reality a large 
horny helmet. The eggs, which are valued by collectors, 
are large and of a green grayish color. 



148 



LIVING GIANTS 



Allied to these birds is one of the most peculiar of the 
entire tribe, the little apteryx (Fig. 1 12), a noctural or night- 
wandering creature, found in New Zealand, and most 
unbirdlike in general appearance. In some respects it 
resembles a pelican ; but it is covered with a thick growth 
of hairlike feathers, and has small, useless wings entirely 




Fig. 112. — Apteryx. 



hidden by them. It has no tail; its legs are short and 
powerful. Its bill is long and snipelike, and at its extrem- 
ity are the nostrils. It hides by day, wandering forth at 
night in search of insects, which constitute its food. Its 
nest is placed in a burrow in the ground, where a single 
egg is laid. While the apteryx is very shy, it is very help- 
less, and is doubtless doomed to early extinction, as are all 



IN A PENGUIN ROOKERY 



149 



the large and conspicuous birds upon which a value is 
placed by man. The ostrich would doubtless long ago 
have disappeared, had not the ostrich farm been founded 
for its preservation, as it was the custom of natives in the 
early times to kill the birds in their attempts to capture 
them for the feathers. 

IN A PENGUIN ROOKERY 

When the first navigators visited the Antarctic regions, 
they reported seeing at various points armed and uniformed 
men, who sometimes stood at rest, 
and again appeared to be moving 
in rank and file. Later exploration 
showed that the inhospitable regions 
about the South Pole were unin- 
habited, and that the supposed sol- 
diers were penguins. 

The penguins are very fishlike in 
their appearance and habits. They 
are more at home in the water than 
on land, and when plunging from 
wave to wave are easily mistaken 
for fishes or porpoises. When 
standing on the rocks, they resemble 
statues. The beak is pointed upward 
(Fig. 113), giving the bird a laughable and supercilious air. 
The feathers are very fine, like scales. The wings re- 
semble the fins of the albacore, are entirely useless in flying, 
and are employed as fins to aid the webbed feet in forcing 
them through the water with remarkable velocity. 




Fig. 113. — Penguin. 



150 IN A PENGUIN ROOKERY 

The king penguin, the largest, stands three and a half 
feet in height, and from a distance appears to be dressed 
in a black coat and white vest. The back is dark ; the 
breast is white. The face, as well as the wings, is dark, 
two narrow bands of bright yellow in front giving it a sin- 
gular appearance. The bird lives in what are literally 
bird cities on the various islands of the Antarctic region ; 
and their houses are among the wonders of bird creation. 
The rookeries are localities selected by the birds near the 
sea, and are generally divided into two regions with dis- 
tinct boundaries. In one, the old birds stand erect, by 
hundreds and thousands, with bills pointed upward; in the 
other the young, living in what is to all intents and pur- 
poses the nursery. There is no nest, the penguin carrying 
the green and white egg in a pouch between its legs for 
seven weeks, when the young appears. When carrying 
the egg, the penguins hop along the rocks, hence acquir- 
ing the name " rock hopper. " When not bearing the tgg 
they walk as do other birds. 

One of the most remarkable rookeries is that of the 
rock-hopper penguin (Eudyptes) found on the island of 
Tristan da Cunha. It is smaller than the first mentioned, 
and has a feather tuft on each side of the head, of a bril- 
liant sulphur-yellow, which resembles a quill pen thrust 
behind the ear. The wings are finlike, and used as such 
in the water, where the bird, so far as its habits are con- 
cerned, is virtually a fish. The rookery here is densely 
overgrown with a stout tussock grass which bears some 
resemblance to standing corn growing in clumps higher 
than a man's head. This vast tract is the home of thousands 
of penguins, which are attractive creatures with red bills. 



IN A PENGUIN ROOKERY 151 

Various roads or paths lead down from the rookery or 
city, up and down which the birds are continually passing 
and repassing, plunging off into the water to swim head 
first after the fashion of fishes. The rookery is a maze of 
streets, alleys, and byways, confusing to man or beast. 
Once in this strange city of birds, the view is entirely cut 
off by the high grass ; the heat is intense, and the odor 
almost unbearable; while the nests are placed so thickly 
along the roadway that it is difficult to avoid stepping upon 
them and the eggs. On each nest sits a bird screaming, 
" caa, caa, caa, urr, urr, urr," and driving its sharp beak into 
the flesh of the passer-by. So resolute are the attacks of 
the myriads of birds that officers of the Challenger who 
tried to pass through the city were obliged to defend them- 
selves with clubs ; but where a dozen birds were struck 
down a hundred sprang forward to the attack. Moseley 
says : — 

" But you make miserably slow progress and, worried to 
death, at last resort to the expedient of stampeding as far 
as your breath will carry you. You put down your head 
and make a rush through the grass, treading on old and 
young haphazard, and rushing on before they have time to 
bite. ... I always adopted the stampede method in the 
rookeries, but the men usually preferred to have their 
revenge, and fought their way every foot." The nest 
of these birds is a mere shallow depression in the mud, 
lined with grass, in which is laid two greenish white 
eggs, upon which both male and female sit. The rookery 
at Inaccessible Island is even larger and more remarkable. 
The penguins remain there from July to April, then make 
a singular migration, utterly disappearing, swimming 



152 



THE AUKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 



doubtless to some region farther to the south. The males 
return in July, the females in August. 



THE AUKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 

What the penguin is to the Antarctic regions the auk 
is to the North. It bears a strong resemblance to that 

singular bird, and is one of 
the least valuable to man. 
The auks are particularly in- 
teresting from the fact that 
the giant of the tribe, the great 
auk (Fig. 114), has become 
extinct since the discovery of 
America. Three hundred years 
ago it was very common, and 
near Iceland was killed by 
the boatload ; and that it 
ranged the coast as far south 
as the coast of Maine is shown 
by the presence of bones in 
the shell mounds of that State. 
The great auk was a fine-looking bird, standing about 
three feet in height. Its wings were rudimentary and 
useless, hardly four inches in length. Its beak was sharp 
and powerful ; its back black ; its breast was white ; while 
its feet were large and webbed. It laid but a single egg 
about the size of that of the swan, spotted with small but 
irregular blotches. So rare is this bird to-day that not 
over a dozen good specimens are known, and all are 
valued at from one to two thousand dollars apiece, One 




Fig. 114. — Great Auk. 
Extinct. 



THE AUKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 



153 



was purchased by the American Museum of Natural His- 
tory a few years ago at a cost of six hundred and fifty 
dollars. The eggs are equally rare, 
and each specimen of bird and egg 
is as well known as any one of the 
rare and beautiful diamonds of the 
world. 

There are a number of smaller auks, 

the little auk being but a few inches 

in length, a beautiful and interesting 

creature. Unlike its relative, it can fly 

[with great rapidity, though it is more 

at home in the water. Its 

small bluish white egg is 

laid on the rocks or even 

ice in northern 

Norway, where 

its cry, "rott, 

Another 




Fig. 115. — Razorbill Auk. 



tet, tet, tet," is often heard, 
beautiful bird is the razorbill auk 
(Fig. 115), which has a peculiar bill 
crossed by white bands. 

Nowhere is bird life so 
well represented as in cer- 
tain regions on the borders 
of the Arctic Ocean. 
There the lofty cliffs are 
often covered with sea birds 
of all kinds, most of them 
famous divers, as the auks, puffins, and others. The 
guillemots are attractive forms (Fig. 116). I have often 




Fig. 116. — Guillemot. 



154 



THE AUKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 



had single specimens play about my boat when fish- 
ing, and have seen them flying under water using their 
powerful wings as they do in the air. 
The murre (Fig. 117) is a beautiful bird, 
the head of graceful shape, calling to 
mind some of the terns. Among the myr- 
iads of sea birds we shall find 
thepufifins(Fig. 118). The tufted 
puffin has a singular crest of 
yellow, silken feathers above the 
eyes, which gives it a 
peculiar jaunty appear- 
ance. The common 
puffin, or sea parrot, 
forms a burrow for its 
nest, in which the single 
egg is placed. This tun- 




Fig. 117. — Murre. 

nel is often taken by 
a rabbit that insists 
upon bringing up its 
family in the same den. 
Among the most skill- 
ful divers are the loons 
(Fig. 119), which have 
been caught on lines 
thirty or forty feet from 
the surface in the Great Lakes, where this remarkable bird 
can swim a quarter of a mile without coming to the sur- 




Fig. 118. — Puffin. 



THE AUKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 



155 



facer There are but five species, all richly marked, stand- 
ing upright much after the fashion of the penguin, the 
legs being placed at the extreme end of the body. The 
adult specimens have a dark back with regular blockings 
of white. In the winter they come south and are found 
in the temperate regions ; but in summer they migrate 
to the Arctic zone, where 
they nest and breed. In 
diving they use the power- 
fully webbed feet alone, and 
so rapidly do they swim that 
few fishes escape them. 
The red-throated loon and 
the black-throated loon are 
well known. No more 
graceful birds in the water 
can be imagined. On the 
Pacific coast I have watched 
them following up schools 
of small fry, dashing in 
among them with great 
rapidity, and rarely failing 
to secure their prey. I have seen three loons so de- 
moralize a school of fishes that they formed an almost 
solid ball and remained perfectly stationary while the loons 
dashed into them, at the same time so encircling the 
mass as to prevent their escape. 

In this work of destruction they were soon aided by 
several cormorants, and later by a seal. 

Among the really beautiful birds of the sea are the 
grebes (Fig. 120), common in many countries. The foot 




Fig. 119. — Loon. 



i 5 6 



THE AUKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 




of the grebe differs much from that of other swimming 
birds, having lobes upon three of the toes, but not uniting 

them as in the 
\ duck, where the web 
connects the toes. 
The western grebe 
and the pied-billed 
grebe (Fig. 121) are 
attractive forms, the 
heads especially be- 
ing beautiful and 
jaunty. The grebes 
are famous swim- 
fig. 120. -grebe. ™ers and are very 

r- — — "- 
cunning, often coming to the 

surface with only the tip of 
the bill exposed, thus giving 
the impression that they re- 
main below for an indefinite 
period. A little grebe kept at 
Santa Catalina was almost 
helpless on land, making 
scarcely any effort to fly, but 
once in the water it was a 
type of activity. The nest of 
the crested grebe is formed 
of rushes, and is a veritable 
floating island, upon which 
the eggs, from two to seven, are laid. The nest of the 
Castanean grebe, according to a French naturalist, is 




Fig. 121.— Pied-billed Grebe. 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



157 



paddled about by the bird, which sits upon it with one 
foot overboard at such times. These birds are all valuable 
for their rich feathers, which are used as furs and 
trimming. 

SOME OCEAN FLYERS 

Petrels and Gulls 

Among the grebes and sea birds there are many others 
with long, graceful, pointed wings — the gulls and their 
allies. These are 
among the most 
attractive of birds ; 
not for their colors, 
as they are almost 
always gray, white, 
or black, but the 
contrasts of tint 
are so marked, and 
their flight is so 
well sustained that 
they are famous 
the world over. 

On the Florida reef the laughing gull (Fig. 122) is a 
very common form, its victorious "ha ha" being heard 
at all times. Its black head and lighter body are con- 
spicuous objects far away. It follows the patient peli- 
cans about the reef, and when the latter secure a catch, 
drops down upon them, alighting on head or back, and 
snatches the fish from the very mouths of the stupid peli- 




Fig. 122. — Laughing Gull. 



i 5 8 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



cans just as they are prepared to swallow it. The laugh- 
ing gull then rises and utters the loud "ha ha, ha ha." 
Often this cry is immediately interpreted by the man-of- 
war bird, which comes plunging down from the empyrean, 
where it has been soaring, to begin a contest in the air 
that fully demonstrates the marvelous power of flight pos- 
sessed by these two birds. Higher they climb until al- 
most out of sight ; then they come plunging downward, 
living arrows, the larger bird invariably forcing the gull 

to give up its prey, 
which the swift 
man-of-war bird 
catches before it 
touches the water. 
At Santa Cata- 
lina Island the 
gulls follow the 
steamer to Avalon 
and back, nearly 
sixty miles, every 
day. Some rest a 
few moments on the gilt ball at the topmast, but nearly 
all fly the entire distance and are often fed by the 
passengers, who toss bread and crackers at them, which 
are sometimes caught in the air. The ivory gull is a 
beautiful creature, pure white, and found in the far North. 
Its bill is yellow and its feet are black. The American 
herring gull is also white, with the tips of the wings dark, 
while Sabine's gull is a rare and graceful form (Fig. 123). 
These gulls and their allies are of great value to man. 
All along shore they are the scavengers, eating dead 




Fig. 123. — Sabine's Gull. 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



159 



fish- and other objects which drift ashore, and in almost 
all localities they are protected from the vandals who 
would shoot them for the skins. Of all the tribe,' the alba- 
tross (Fig. 124) is the most remarkable flyer, being rarely 
if ever seen near land, except when it breeds. It has 
earned a reputation for long journeys which, while per- 
haps somewhat exaggerated, exceed that of any other 
bird. These birds are usually met with in the southern 
seas, being rarely 
seen in the United 
States. Several, 
however, have been 
observed at Santa 
Catalina, California, 
and in Florida. 
The albatross looks 
like a gigantic gull. 
The male bird is 
snow-white except 
the tail, which is 
dark; the females 
are sprinkled with 
gray. These birds nest at "Marion Island among other 
places and dot the plains, their great white bodies being 
conspicuous objects. The nests are made of moss or 
grass raised from the ground about a foot ; they are 
conical, with broad bases and much earth packed and 
beaten in, so that when the birds are not on the nest 
the latter resembles a seat. The egg is not laid in the 
nest, but is held in a pouch by the female. It is nearly 
five inches long, white, speckled with red at the larger 




Fig. 124. — Albatross. 



i6o 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



end. When the female is on the nest, the male stands or 
sits beside her. At this time they will not rise when ap- 
proached, but merely snap their bills. The male is very 
devoted and evidently tries to amuse his mate. Professor 
Moseley suggests that he is singing to her. In any event, 
he stands close beside her, raises his wings, spreads his 
tail, tosses his head in the air, and all the time sways his 
neck up and down, uttering a curious cry. His mate 
responds in a similar strain. Then they press their 
beaks together, repeating this laughable performance by 
the half-hour. These birds followed the ship Challenger 
for five hundred miles soutlF*bf Heard Island, but left 
her when two hundred miles from the Antarctic barrier. 
Some of the large gull-like birds, as the Antarctic skua, 
are fierce and dangerous creatures, preying upon other 
birds of all kinds. The naturalists of 
the Challenger were obliged to beat 
them off at times, and when shooting 
other birds it was often 
necessary to shoot a skua 
before it carried 
off the game. 
The penguin 
cities are favorite 
nesting places 
ior these fierce 
birds, their nests 
being surrounded with piles of bones, suggestive of their 
cannibalistic habits. There is a northern skua (Fig. 125), a 
large, powerful bird, which attacks other birds, sucks the 
eggs of ducks and various sea birds. The mollymauk, 




Fig. 125. — Northern Skua. 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



l6l 




Fig. 126. — Sooty Tern. 



a smaller albatross, builds a columnar nest more than 
a foot in height and fourteen inches across. Its egg is 
also held in a pouch. 

Closely allied to the gulls are the terns. These are 
graceful, swallowlike creatures, long and delicate of limb, 
types of all that 
is beautiful or 
graceful on the 
wing. They are 
found with the 
gulls, but rarely 
venture far from 
shore. When fly- 
ing, they hold the 
bill pointed down- 
ward, as though carefully scanning the water. If a fish 
appears, they plunge after it like a kingfisher. In a word, 
the tern is a hunter, while the big and clumsy gull is more 
of a scavenger. I once kept a sooty tern (Fig. 126) as a 
pet, the dainty little creature soon learning to eat from 
my hand. All the terns are beautiful. 

One of the most remarkable sights I have witnessed 
was at Bird Key on the Florida reef, where many thousands 
of terns similar to Figure 126 congregate to lay. The terns 
laid their speckled eggs upon the sand without any sem- 
blance of a nest except a slight depression. Upon my 
first visit to the island it was almost impossible to walk 
without crushing them. Almost every foot or yard was 
preempted, and we collected them in flour barrels, placing 
a layer of leaves of the bay cedar and then a layer of eggs, 
and found them excellent. When I landed, the terns rose 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — II 



1 62 SOME OCEAN FLYERS 

in a body uttering discordant cries in such volume that it 
was a babel worse confounded, and to make my compan- 
ion by my side hear, it was necessary to scream. This 
had a singular effect upon the birds, as no sooner did they 
hear the unusual sound, than every bird ceased crying, a 
perfect silence ensuing for two or three seconds, then the 
crash and turmoil caused by thousands of voices again 
broke the stillness. This would be repeated indefinitely. 
Among these terns were many noddies, dark brown birds 
with white crowns. They built a rude nest of twigs in the 
bay cedars, upon which they laid an egg almost as large as 
that of a hen and almost white, while the egg of the tern 
was blotched. When the young noddy appeared, hatched 
out partly by the terrific sun, the mother brought it fish, 
which it fought for with throngs of marauding crabs. 

How the mothers of these unnumbered thousands found 
their own young was a mystery, as in crawling through 
the hot stifling bush the young would rush away, exchange 
positions a score of times, and were so plentiful that I 
could pick up a dozen without moving. Yet I never saw 
a dead bird ; each one was fed by some one of the cloud 
of terns which hovered over the green-crested key. So 
great was the number of birds that from a distance of a 
mile they appeared like a cloud hanging over the island, 
and half a mile distant I could hear the distinct and rasp- 
ing roar of their cries. When they were not disturbed, 
very few were seen. Every year this vast concourse 
gathered on this island and East Key, and on no others, 
though there were six or seven keys. They gathered 
from far and near, flying perhaps hundreds of miles to 
find the particular spot upon which they were born. How 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



163 




Fig. 127. — Skimmer. 



they^ found this key of but fifteen acres, over a wide 
waste of waters, it would be difficult to explain. 

Still another in- 
teresting bird of 
this type is the 
skimmer(Fig.i27), 
whose bills are like 
knife blades. To 
obtain its food it 
skims along the 
water, with its 
lower jaw just 
under the surface, thus picking up various small fry. I 
have watched these beautiful birds on the outlying islands 
of Texas, and wondered at their inexhausti- 
ble fund of patience. Those who go down 
to the sea in ships, and many who do not, 
are familiar with the graceful Mother 
Carey's chicken, or stormy petrel 
(Fig. 128). As soon as a ship gets 
well out from land, these 
little voyagers join her and 
follow in her wake 
for hundreds of 
miles, a never ceas- 
ing entertainment to 
* passengers and crew. 
The latter have an 
especial regard for them, amounting in some instances 
to a superstition that ill will befall the ship that permits 
a petrel to be caught. I well remember the indignation 




Fig. 128. — Stormy Petrel. 



164 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



of an old quartermaster when I caught one by tying a 
piece of meat to a cord. I wished to see the living bird, 
and released it unharmed ; but the old sailor predicted a 
storm as a result of the deed. This little bird could not fly 

from the deck, and only 
regained its freedom 
when I tossed it into the 
air. They spend the 
greater portion of their 
time at sea, following 
vessels for the food 
thrown over, resting 
upon the water. At 
Kerguelen's Land the 




Fig. 129. — Shearwater. 



petrels nest on the ground, forming long tunnels six 
inches in diameter at the end of which is a small room 
where the nest is built. The giant petrels prey upon 
gulls, and certain ones are famous divers. 

The shearwaters 
(Fig. 129) are hand- 
some birds. At 
Tristan da Cuna 
they honeycomb the 
soil with their bur- 
rows. In certain 
parts of Europe 
they deposit their 
eggs in rabbit burrows. Resembling them is the fulmar, 
often the attendant of fishermen, following their boats. 

Among the really beautiful sea birds is the yellow-billed 
tropic bird (Fig. 130), with its long tail and graceful flight. 




Fig. 130. — Tropic Bird. 



SOME OCEAN FLYERS 



165 



Those who have 
visited Florida will 
recall the very 
stupid and ungainly 
bird called the booby 
which permits the 
man with the gun 
to approach it so 
closely that it can 
almost be touched. 
An allied form is 
the gannet, which 
bears some resem- 



Fig. 131. — Snake Bird. 

blance to a goose, and possesses 

the latter' s stupidity. In the 

swampy regions of Florida is 

found the snake bird, or water 

turkey (Fig. 131), its long and 

slender neck suggesting a 

snake. It is adanger- 

g^ ous creature, the bird 

invariably striking a 

vicious blow at the 

face when wounded 

Fig. 132. — Cormorant. . .. 

or resisting capture. 

Near relatives, and resembling them, are the cormorants 

(Fig. 132). They have long necks, stout bodies, and hooked 





1 66 SOME OCEAN FLYERS 

bills. They stand erect, supported by the stiff tail. They 
are among the most remarkable of all swimmers, chasing 
sardines, anchovies, and other small fry with such speed 
that they are a factor to be considered. Two or three 
species are common off the islands of the California coast, 
and I have climbed to their nests on Santa Cruz Island. 
They nest in almost inaccessible localities on the face of 
cliffs, the nests, which are made of seaweed, in the case 
of Brandt's cormorant, being filthy in the extreme. Many 
of the young die by falling into the surf before they are 
large enough to swim. At San Nicolas Island I saw a 
vast flock which gathered every morning. The birds be- 
gan to arrive at about eight, coming in small bands of a 
dozen or more, and all alighting in a flock in smooth 
water near shore. Suddenly all headed in a given direc- 
tion and swam in. Then, as though ordered, they turned, 
gabbling and uttering the strangest sounds. No one could 
witness this performance and not be impressed with the 
belief that it was a bird convention of some kind. 

All these cormorants had certain resting places at Cata- 
lina, at the north end of the island, on Ship Rock. In the 
morning they flew away to feed, going twenty miles. 
They returned at night, the long lines of " shags" appear- 
ing like some gigantic sea serpent winding its way over the 
ocean. I have watched them feeding, darting into schools 
of small fry, dashing along the bottom twenty feet deep 
with marvelous speed, easily capturing the agile fishes, and 
have often hooked them when fishing at this island, in 
winter when they are very tame. In China the cormo- 
rants are trained to fish for their owners, who place about 
their necks a band of leather sufficiently tight to prevent 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 



167 



them from swallowing the fish ; then they are released, 
the birds bringing their catches to the surface, for which 
they are rewarded. 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 

The boobies, the cormorants, and the gannets have 
cousins in the pelicans — the long-beaked, pouched crea- 
tures of solemn mien, found in almost all tropical regions. 
In Florida the brown pelican 
(Fig. 133) is the common form. 
On land it is very clumsy, its 
short legs being poorly adapted 
for locomotion, yet with their 
wide webs excellent paddles. 
The pelican has an extraordinary 
pouch beneath the lower jaw, 
which is really a huge dip net, 
to aid the clumsy bird in the 
capture of food. Although a 
large bird, it is extremely light 
in tHe air, on account of the 
presence of air sacs under the* 
skin. It is particularly buoyant 
on the surface of the water, 

which is the position of its choice. The birds move in 
flocks, paddling slowly along with bills lying close to their 
breasts, giving them a very dignified appearance. At such 
times the birds are resting, but when hungry they rise and 
fly with heavy beating of the wings forty or fifty feet above 
the water, eagerly scanning the surface, When a school 




Fig. 133. — Brown Pelican. 



168 THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 

of fish is observed, the pelican turns and plunges down, 
head first, like a catapult, opening the mouth wide just 
before it reaches the water. As the fishes can not see up- 
ward, it engulfs scores in its capacious pouch, out of which 
the water drains, leaving the fishes, which are afterward 
swallowed with an upward, tossing motion of the head. 

I found the pelicans nesting in mangrove trees on Bush 
Key. The nests were the rudest piles of brush imaginable, 
on the top of which the eggs were placed. The young 
were strange creatures, and not particularly agreeable 
neighbors, with their insistent, asthmatic voices. I kept 
several as pets. They followed the boat over the reef, 
alighted on it at times, and roosted on the side of a fisher- 
man's hut when ashore. The fisherman, by fastening a 
strap about their necks, obliged the patient birds to fish 
for him. 

On the upper Florida reef the pelicans nest in vast 
numbers, and hundreds "may be seen standing on the 
partly submerged sand banks, resting after their fishing 
excursions. Their flight is particularly graceful after get- 
ting " under way." They come down within a few inches 
of the water and move a long distance without any motion 
of the wings — the perfection of soaring; and when the 
momentum is exhausted, they rise to plunge down again. 
I have seen my pet pelicans soaring in this manner not 
five feet from my boat, where it was plain that no motion 
was made. In California the brown pelican has a similar 
habit ; but in diving, it often disappears entirely from sight 
for a few seconds. The appearance of these graceful birds 
along the shore at Santa Catalina and San Pedro formerly 
added much to the attractiveness of the locality, as the 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 169 

bircfcwere exceedingly tame; but an order came from a 
Chicago milliner for pelican skins, and the birds were shot 
down by the boat load. A law was finally passed making 
the killing of these birds and of gulls a penal offense, and 
so they were saved. Every reader of these lines should 
see that the birds of his locality are protected, as there 
is a price upon the head of almost every bird, which can 
only result in their extinction. 

I visited an interesting pelican rookery at Anacapa 
Island, opposite Santa Barbara, and found a lofty, sloping 
mesa on the south side of the island covered with birds, 
which rose in the air. in a vast cloud as we approached. 
The nests were all upon the ground. One of the most 
interesting of this group is the white pelican, a large, finely 
formed bird, pure white except the primary feathers. 
These do not dive for their prey, but swim along the sur- 
face, striking at it with their powerful bills. The white 
pelican is an inland species as a rule, found in Nevada, 
Utah, and many inland States. During the breeding season 
both sexes develop a peculiar, horny crest upon the beak, 
which is afterward cast off. A naturalist visited a nest- 
ing place of these birds in Nevada, and in the nesting 
month found the ground strewn with the rejected crests. 
In Santa Barbara a fisherman has a pet white pelican 
which he caught several years ago. At the breeding sea- 
son this fine bird disappears, going perhaps hundreds of 
miles to join its mate and then returning to the back yard 
of Larco. Year after year the bird has returned, being 
perfectly tame, playing with boys, dogs, and cats. The 
pelicans have no enemies except the laughing gulls, which, 
as we have seen, systematically rob them. 



170 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 




Fig. 134. — Man-of-war Hawk. 



Closely related to the pelicans is the man-of-war hawk 
(Fig. 134), which in my estimation is one of the most grace- 
ful of all flyers. There 
are but two species, 
found mainly in semi- 
tropic waters. They are 
lithe and powerful, with 
an enormous spread of 
wings. The tail is forked 
and black in color. The 
legs are weak and small ; 
the beak strong and 
pointed. The bird, being virtually a hawk in appearance 
and a thief by habit, robs the gulls and other birds. 

Few if any birds have a greater power of flight. I 
have seen them lying almost motionless in the air six 
hundred feet above Garden Key, Florida, during the 
heaviest gales. The birds faced the wind, their broad 
wings extended and immovable even when examined 
through a glass. They were seemingly tilting on the 
wind, retaining their position for hours, or as long as 
the gale lasted, enjoying the commotion of the elements 
that had driven every other bird to cover. I have watched 
them off the islands of Texas, where their girations could 
not fail to arouse admiration. They nest among the man- 
groves of the low-lying islands or keys in the tropics, and 
when not hunting for game or soaring high in air, roost in 
the low trees. But does the victorious cry of the laughing 
gull announce that it has robbed a patient pelican, the 
great man-of-war bird rises, and in a few seconds is in 
vigorous pursuit, affording me on many occasions a mar^ 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 



171 



velous exhibition of the possibilities of flight and activity 
in mid-air. The eye of the bird is fierce and striking, and 
beneath the throat is a vivid vermilion patch which gives 
it a martial and striking appearance. In the Ascension 
Islands it builds its nest in the guano beds, while those 




Fig. 135. — Ducks. 

found at Fernando de Noronha are upon the very edge 
of steep precipices. The nest contains but a single egg. 
In the islands of Australia there is a species which forms 
its nest of twigs in low bushes. The bird has a peculiar 
musklike odor, which once experienced will not be forgotten. 
Among the most familiar of all birds, partly because 
of their domestication, are the ducks and geese, embrac- 
ing about two hundred species (Fig. 135). The ducks are 
essentially surface swimmers and have webbed feet. They 



172 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 



have soft down, beautiful feathers, richly colored, while 
the beaks are, as a rule, flat bills provided with ridges, or 

fine serrations, which serve as 
strainers when feeding. There 
are fish ducks, river ducks, sea 
ducks, geese, and swans, all 
differing materially, but having 
many features in common. The 
fish ducks are large, powerful 
birds, richly colored. They are 
skillful divers, the hooded mer- 
ganser (Fig. 136) being particu- 
larly attractive. Perhaps the 
most beautiful duck after the 
famous mandarin duck of Japan, 

whose beauties of 

Fig. 136. — Hooded Merganser. r ,, ,, 

feather can not be 

adequately described, is the American wood 
duck (Fig. 137), with its marvelous combina- 
tions of tint, color, and tone. 
The bird builds in holes in the 
trunks of trees along 
the edges of streams, 
and when the young 
are hatched, carries 
them down to the 
water in her bill. 

Among the ducks 
particularly valuable 
to man are the blue-winged teal, the green wing, the 
black duck, the mallard that is domesticated, the red 





Fig. 137. — Wood Duck. 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 



173 



head7 the canvasback, and many others. The eider duck 
(Fig. 138) is one of the most valuable of the tribe on account 
of the delicate down it provides to line its nest, this being 
collected to form pillows and cushions. The river ducks 
feed upon vegetation of various kinds, which they dive 
for in the bayous and lagoons along shore, and they are not 
averse to grain. The fish ducks go to sea and prey upon 
small fry, while the sea ducks are found in rivers, bays, 
and the open sea. The 
waters of Chesapeake 
Bay are a famous place 
for the canvasback. I 
have seen the surface 
covered for acres with 
these and other fine game 
ducks. Few birds are so 
valuable as the ducks, as 
from one end of the 
country to the other the 
swamp lands are owned 
by clubs devoted to the 
sport. These often have 
expensive club houses, to 

maintain which thousands of dollars are expended annually. 
In Los Angeles County, California, almost all the swamp 
and lagoon land is reserved in this way, and along the 
Sacramento River thousands of acres are so utilized, giv- 
ing employment to many persons, while the birds killed 
are all used as food. 

The geese (Fig. 139) are fine, large, handsome birds 
equally valuable. The snow goose, as its name implies, is 




Fig. 138. — Eider Duck. 



174 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 




Fig. 139. —Wild Goose. 



pure white, except the tips of the primaries, the bill and 

feet being red. The barnacle goose is a well-known bird, 

found most plentifully 
in the Eastern Hemi- 
sphere. Our most 
common form is the 
Canada goose (Fig. 
140). The ducks and 
geese migrate each 
year, covering long dis- 
tances, summering in 
the far North, often on 
the shores of the Arc- 
tic Ocean, returning 
south at the beginning 

of winter. These migrations, particularly those of the 

geese, are very interesting in Southern California. The 

birds follow the 

Sierra Madre range 

and make their 

presence known by 

loud "honking." 

The flock is seen to 

be V-shaped, led by 

a single bird, and 

they literally slide 

downhill either to 

the north or south. 

I have seen a flock 

of hundreds not five hundred feet up at the base of the 

Sierras, evidently in the greatest confusion, but they 



*A 
















^r -ti 










1 






. I 


pf* ' ™ l \ . -'/K ■■ jr* 








^ — 


ftid^j 


^ 





Fig. 140. — Canada Goose. 



THE PELICANS AND DUCKS 



175 



rapidly took the form of a great spiral, and in vast whirls 
went winding upward, rising higher and higher, now dis- 
appearing, and then as the sun struck their backs, flashing 
out like silver dollars against the sky to disappear again. 
So upward the flock climbed into the empyrean until it at- 
tained an altitude of a mile, above or even with the sum- 
mits of the Sierras. Then the leader turned to the north, 
and after a few violent flappings of its wings, spread them 
out and soared away. It was followed by the flock, which 
lined out with unerring precision. I have watched them as 
far as the eye could reach, and the wings were not flapped, 
the geese sliding downhill, moving on with great rapidity 
for several miles. When they reach a dangerously low 
altitude, at a signal from the leader in all probability, they 
break up and for a few seconds seem involved in con- 
fusion. Then they rapidly fall into line and begin another 
ascent, which carries them high into the air again, when 
another aerial tobog- 
gan slide is begun. 
In this way some 
geese doubtless move 
several hundreds of 
miles in a short time 
with a minimum 
amount of exertion. 
Of all this group 
of birds, the swans 
(Fig. 141) are the most beautiful. They are types of grace 
and ease when on the water, seemingly designed to orna- 
ment ponds and other artificial bodies of water. Owing to 
the fact that they are easily domesticated, they are always 




Fig. 141. —Swan. 



176 SOME WADING BIRDS 

found in preserves where animal life is desired to intensify 
the beauties of woodland streams. The swans are so heavy 
that most of their time is spent on the water, where they 
feed in the shallows by thrusting their heads below the 
surface and probing the muddy bottom for animal and 
vegetable food. 

The swan is a graceful and swift swimmer, having 
broad webs which force it along over the surface like a 
beautiful barge. The black swan of Australia is an attract- 
ive bird, in sharp contrast to its white cousin. I have 
seen its nest in Central Park, New York, where it is com- 
pletely domesticated. The period of incubation is about 
six weeks, the male assisting its mate in the nesting 
process, taking her place when she goes abroad for food 
or recreation. 

SOME WADING BIRDS 

Diving and swimming birds, as we have seen, are 
adapted by nature to the kind of life that they lead. 
Among them are many with long legs which enable them 
to wade along the shallow flats and secure the food of 
their choice without diving. I well recall the first flamingo 
I saw, standing with a scarlet ibis on the submerged outer 
reef, the rich vermilion color making the group a con- 
spicuous feature of the landscape. The two birds stood 
like statues, each posing in a different position and per- 
mitting me to approach so closely that I could easily have 
brought them down. When they did rise, it was with a 
heavy, lumbering flight, using the long legs to beat the 
water, so that they appeared to be walking off into the air. 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



177 



The legs did not assume the trailing position until they 
were well above the surface. 

The flamingo builds a nest of mud, in very shallow 
water, from one to three feet in height, on which it sits 
with legs drawn up. There is a large rookery on one of 
the Bahama Islands where, in the 
nesting season, hundreds- of the 
vermilion-tinted birds can be seen 
appearing from a distance like a 
pink cloud. 

I once kept a flamingo(Fig. 142) 
as a pet, and its dignified strut 
and continual posing made it 
most interesting. It had a singu- 
lar habit of thrusting its head 
upside down between its legs, 
as though to look backward, and 
took so many odd positions that I 
should not have been surprised 
at any time to have found its 
neck tied in a bowknot. 

The flamingo's body is small, 
its legs and neck are inordinately 
long, so that the head can be twisted about in a most 
remarkable fashion. The flamingo is the king of the 
waders, its stiltlike legs serving it well, as it wanders 
along the shallow lagoons. Its feet are thoroughly webbed, 
as complete swimming organs as those of the duck ; yet 
I never saw a flamingo swim, though doubtless they 
often do so. 

A companion of the flamingo is the roseate spoonbill 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 12 




Fig. 142. — Flamingo. 



1 7 8 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



(Fig. 143), a delicate, rose-colored bird, with a bill so broad- 
ened at the tip that it resembles a spoon. I have seen 

them standing on the reef 
alone or with the ibis (Fig. 
144). The latter, especially 
the scarlet ibis, is a beauti- 
ful bird of brilliant plum- 
age and really a native of 
South America, though 
common in Florida. The 
ibis was a sacred bird in 
Egypt years ago, and its 
mummy is often found in 




Fig. 143. — Roseate Spoonbill. 

the ancient tombs. The bird is 
a familiar object along the Nile 
or on the Delta. The white ibis 
is a striking form, found mostly 
in the interior on land. It has 
a sharp sicklelike bill and bears 
so striking a resemblance to a 
curlew that it is often mistaken 
for it. The white-faced ibis is still 
another, while the wood ibis, a 
large, striking bird (Fig. 145), 
leads us to the storks, the largest of the wading birds. 
These strange birds (Fig. 146) have a wide range, the 




Fig. 144. — Scarlet Ibis. 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



179 




Wood Ibis. 



chimneys (Fig. 147), the 
birds being supposed tobring 
good luck to such houses 
and their occupants. The 
migration of the stork is an 
interesting spectacle. 

One of the most valuable 
of the storks is the marabou, 
from which the beautiful 
feathers of that name are 
taken. The birds have but 
a single representative in 
America, the South Ameri- 
can jabiru (Fig. 148). It is 
a large, powerful bird, with 



most interesting being 
found in Europe and 
Asia, where in many 
cities they are pro- 
tected as are the 
buzzards in South 
Carolina, where they 
perform the duties of 
valuable scavengers. 
In Holland it is not 
unusual to see storks 
nesting on the tops of 




Fig. 146. — Stork. 



i8o 



SOME WADING BIRDS 




Fig. 147. — Storks and Nest. 

scratched its ponderous head. 
The stork is often kept by 
planters as a sort of watch 
dog, sometimes doing valua- 
ble service in driving off in- 
truders. 

An ally of the stork is the 
curious adjutant bird, a gro- 
tesque figure either sitting or 
standing. It is easily recog- 
nized by the curious pouch- 
like object under the throat. 
It stands five feet in height, 



an enormous bill, slightly 
curved upward. The 
head and neck are bare 
with the exception of a 
single patch like a wig at 
the back of the head. 
The head and neck are 
dark and set off by a 
necktie-like band of vivid 
red. In South America 
this bird is often tamed. 
One with which I was 
acquainted was extremely 
docile and would stand 
silently by my side as I 




Fig. 148. — Jabiru. 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



I8l 



and when walking slowly along has a most grotesque and 
dignified appearance, its wan and skinny visage giving 
it the appearance of a very ancient bird. It is con- 
sidered a valuable scavenger, having but one bad quality, 
that of not distinguishing between friend or foe. One 
has been known to pick up and swallow a kitten and a 
puppy belonging to its master, not to mention divers young 
chickens. Indeed, I have heard of an adjutant bird that 
swallowed a small cat, and there is apparently no limit 
to its appetite. 

The whale-headed stork is another allied form, its beak 
being so large that it. might be easily mistaken for a 
wooden Dutch shoe. 

Twenty years ago one of the 
charms of Florida was its flocks of 
cranes and herons. They dotted 
the sides of rivers and marshes, 
and were seen in every lagoon 
and all along the coast. Even in 
New Jersey their nesting places 
were discovered, but it was found 
that their feathers were valuable 
for decorative purposes, and war 
was begun against the most beau- 
tiful of birds. Hundreds of men 
went out and shot them by thou- 
sands, and the places that knew FlG ' ^.-Whooping Crane. 
them once in countless numbers know them no more. 

One of the most conspicuous of the group is the whoop- 
ing crane (Fig. 149), found in the Gulf States in winter and 
far to the north in summer. I have often watched its 




182 



SOME WADLNG BIRDS 



migration, large flocks moving along in regular order, 
their long legs dangling behind. Quite as striking is the 
sandhill crane, a large, powerful bird of a slate-brown 
color, famous for its peculiar antics. I once saw a flock 
in Florida, and by much maneuvering and creeping 
through the brush, obtained a position within fifty yards 
of them unobserved. There were possibly twenty or 
thirty birds standing in an irregular circle, and as I 

reached the spot a single 
bird was leaping up and 
down, raising its wings and 
trotting around in a circle, 
going through a variety of 
maneuvers. When fatigued 
it dropped back, and 
another bird took its place, 
stepping with mincing gait, 
jumping into the air, thrust- 
ing its head down close to 
the ground and running in 
a circle, each bird evidently 
trying to exceed its prede- 
cessor. These " dances" occur in the spring, and are 
supposed to be a feature of the courtship of the birds. 
The herons appear to be small cranes. They have 
sharp bills and long legs and are found in meadows and 
swampy places, where they prey upon small reptiles and 
fishes. No animal has an eye more fierce or uncom- 
promising than the heron. It is fiery, staring, and totally 
devoid of expression. The invader may be assured that 
the sharp bill will be driven full in his face if the oppor- 




Fig. 150. — American Bittern. 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



183 



tunity offers, for these birds, especially when wounded, 
are extremely dangerous. I have kept several as pets, 
but always found them treacherous. This is particularly 
true of the American bittern (Fig. 150), whose peculiar 
booming notes are often heard a long distance. The bird 
is very cunning. Upon one occasion I came upon one 
in a deep glen in the White Mountains and was so near 
the bird that I could have 
struck it with a stick. It 
evidently thought that I did 
not see it, and pointed its 
bill directly upward, holding 
its position as rigid as a limb 
of the tree. It bore such 
a close resemblance to one 
that I should have passed it 
by had I not accidentally dis- 
covered it. As far as I could 
see in passing, the bird held 
its position. 

One of the most beautiful 
of the group is the great 
white heron, which is a con- 
spicuous object on the Florida reefs, where the snowy 
heron is also seen (Fig. 151). In the breeding season this 
beautiful heron has fifty or more rich plumes upon its 
back, which tip upward, giving the bird a jaunty appear- 
ance. It also has a white, lacelike crest. This radiant 
bird, one of which I have kept in confinement, is almost 
extinct, having been destroyed for its feathers. The 
American egret also has almost disappeared. 




Fig. 151. — Snowy Heron. 



1 84 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



Among these birds the great blue heron is one of the 
most striking (Fig. 152). I have often taken it on the 
Florida reef, where it is called the golden heron, and fre- 
quently eaten. The prevailing tint is dark steel. It has 
a graceful crest. Its eye is beautiful but fierce. When 
wounded, the bird fights with great ferocity, inflicting 

a severe wound with its 




sharp bill. All these birds 
have peculiar powder-down 
spots on the breast ; these 
are oily, and seem to 
secrete a yellowish pow- 
der. A sportsman in- 
formed me that in shoot- 
ing the black-crowned 
%^ night heron, or an allied 

form, the powder-down 
spot was phosphorescent, 
emitting a distinct light as 
the bird stood in the water, 
so that he fired at the 
light, killing the bird. As 
he held it in his hand the 
light gradually faded, dis- 
Several other observers told 
me similar stories regarding the light on the heron's breast, 
which they supposed was reflected upon the water, attract- 
ing victims to the silent watcher. So far as known, no 
naturalist or trained observer has seen the light. 

The yellow-crowned night heron is a beautiful bird, and 
solitary in the strictest sense. 




Fig. 152. — Blue Heron. 



appearing as the bird died. 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



I8 5 




Fig. 153. — Purple Gallinule. 



One of the most attractive birds I have ever kept in 
confinement was the Carolina rail, or sora. I often found 

them on the outer 
Florida reef after 
storms, blown in 
shore, and so weary- 
that they were eas- 
ily captured. The 
eye of this little 
bird is the antip- 
odes of that of 
the heron, a beauti- 
ful brown, very ex- 
pressive, mild, and 
gentle. The little birds are easily domesticated. 
With them I often caught the Florida gallinule 
and the purple gallinule (Fig. 153), the latter one 
of the most attractive of 
the marsh birds. It is bril- 
liant purple in hue; the 
back is olive-green, the bill 
red, and the legs are yel- 
low. The toes are extremely 
long, and the bird 
runs over the leaves 
of the water plants 
with ease. All these 
birds run a long dis- 
tance before taking FlG - IS4< 
to the wing when chased, and are difficult to capture. 
The American coot (Fig. 154) is a common form better 




-American Coot. 



1 86 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



known as the mud hen. It is the familiar of every pond 
or swamp, having little fear of man, as it is seldom or 
never shot. Duck hunters are familiar with the peculiar 
grunting note of the Virginia rail (Fig. 155), and the bird 
is in great demand by sportsmen. Even more remarkable 
are the notes of the limpkin, or crying bird, a large, grace- 
ful bird found in 
Florida, in whose 
swamps its mourn- 
ful note is often 
heard. The rails 
are rarely seen, as 
they are very 
clever in hiding in 
the brush at the 
water's edge, and 
so resemble their 
surroundings that 
they often escape 
observation though 
directly under the 
eye. 

In walking or 
riding along any 
shore, flocks of delicate birds in gray tints and with long 
legs are ever rising and wheeling away, alighting a little 
farther along, running quickly and thrusting their long 
bills down into the sand in search of food. These little 
birds are the small waders, avocets, sandpipers, and others, 
all adding materially to the charm along the great Atlantic 
or Pacific highway of sand and dune. One of the most 




Fig. 155. — Virginia Rail. 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



l8 7 



interesting localities 
for them I found 
at the beach of 
Amelia I s land, 
northern Florida. 
This is a wide, hard 
stretch of sand, upon 
which it was my cus- 
tom to ride, and as 
my horse ran along 
the sands, countless 





Fig. 156. — Black-bellied Plover. 

hundreds of these 
beautiful creatures 
arose, resembling 
falling silver dol- 
lars flung into the 



Fig. 157. — Wilson's Snipe, 



air, as they whirled along. 
Among them was the 
plover (Fig. 156), the valued 
golden plover, the killdeer, 
with its shrill "kill-dee" 
often repeated, the piping 
plover, singing "peep-peep" 
and many others, all pos- 
sessing special attractions. 
Among them was Wilson's 
snipe (Fig. 157), the long- 




FlG. 158. — \V iLLET. 



188 



SOME WADING BIRDS 



legged stilt, sandpiper, and the sanderling. Occasionally 
the shy and rare willet would rise (Fig. 158), or the ruff, 
famous for its pugnacity. In this interesting throng 

were the black- 
necked stilt and 
several phala- 
ropes — delicate, 
dainty little crea- 
tures, active on 
the wing, and 
among the most 
beautiful of this 
vast throng. 
One of the larg- 
est of these birds is the long-billed curlew (Fig. 1 59), which I 
have found on the dry mesa, two miles from the Pacific, at 
Santa Monica. They were so actively engaged in picking 
up grasshoppers that by keeping behind 
my horse and walking in a constantly de- 
creasing circle I came within a few 
yards of them, and had an excel- 
lent opportunity to watch them. 
The famed wood- 




Fig. 159. — Hudsonian Curlew. 




cock, now so rare in this 
country, and in such de- 
mand by epicures (Fig. 
160), belongs with these 
birds, and might be 
called a snipe of the 
woods. Its habits are very interesting. At night it is known 
to take remarkable spiral flights, going through many pe- 



Fig. 160. — Woodcock. 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



189 



culiar gyrations. The nest is very cleverly placed, and the 
mother has been seen flying off with a small young one 
between its feet. In all, there are over one hundred 
species of these interesting long-legged birds, from snipes 
to godwits and beyond. 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 

A familiar sight in any backyard is the common 
hen. Scratching violently, throwing the soil behind her, 
and clucking vigorously, she utters words, notes, or calls 
which are readily 
understood by her 
young. This habit 
of scratching is so 
pronounced that it 
has given the name 
to a large and very 
valuable group of 
birds, including the 
fowls, partridges, 
turkeys, grouse, and 
many others. They are all comparatively poor flyers. 
They have short but strong bills, powerful feet, and claws 
adapted to overturning the earth. 

The partridges (Fig. 161) are familiar examples, included 
in a family having one hundred or more species of attrac- 
tive birds of small size, found in almost all parts of the 
world. They prefer the ground, and will run a long dis 
tance rather than fly. When hard pushed they rise and 
move with extreme rapidity, accompanied by a loud whir- 




Fig. 161. — Scaled Partridge. 



190 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



ring sound that has demoralized many a novice with the 
gun. 

The California valley partridge is one of the most attrac- 
tive, having upon its head a tuft of feathers which gives it 
a jaunty appearance. It is found in California in vast 
flocks, especially in the highlands near the mountains. It 
is a social little creature. As I write I can hear its sweet 
call in the arroyo, not a gunshot distant. It forms its 

nest beneath the cactus 
or brush, and when dis- 
covered often rushes 
away with drooping 
wings, pretending to be 
wounded, to attract 
attention from its nest 
or young. Another 
attractive species with 
longer plumes is found 
in the mountains. 

Bobwhite (Fig. 162) 
is one of the best- 
known game birds in 
America ; it is found in 
flocks among the grasses, its note sounding like the name. 
It is often called quail or Virginia partridge. Equally 
important as a game bird is the prairie hen (Fig. 163). It 
is a large bird, mottled, with a short tail, having upon the 
sides of its neck a tuft of ten or more stiff feathers, 
beneath which is a bare spot capable of inflation. In 
spring, numbers congregate, uttering remarkable booming 
sounds which can be heard a long distance. 




Fig. 162. — Bobwhite. 



SOxME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



IQI 



The ruffed grouse (Fig. 164) is another large member 
of the group, the male of which produces an extraordinary 
drumming noise by 
beating the air 
rapidly with its 
wings. The scaled 
partridge, dusky 




Fig. 163. — Prairie Hen. 



grouse, Canada 
grouse, willow par- 
tridge, and prairie 
sharp-tailed grouse 
are others of this 
interesting group 
of birds which afford sport and game for thousands of 
hunters in various parts of the United States. The 

nests of these birds 
are very deftly con- 
cealed, and are more 
often found by acci- 
dent than by vigor- 
ous hunting. In the 
winter some of this 
tribe show a decided 
change of color, ap- 
pearing in a garb of 
pure white. This is 
particularly true of 
the ptarmigan, whose 
plumage varies with 
the seasons. Others change but little, and are readily seen 
upon the snow. In China is found the smallest of the 




Fig. 164. — Ruffed Grouse. 



192 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 




family, a creature so minute that years ago it was sold for 
a very singular purpose, wealthy Chinese using them as 
hand warmers, holding the dainty birds in their hands. 

The wild turkey (Fig. 165) is the largest of the scratchers, 
a noble bird becoming rarer every year, but so thoroughly 

domesticated that 
it is in no danger 
of becoming ex- 
tinct. The pheas- 
ants are among the 
most beautiful 
members of this 
group of birds. 
The argus pheas- 
ant (Fig. 166) is 
one of the most 
gorgeous creatures 
possible to imagine, 
its wing and tail 
feathers being cov- 
ered with striking 
eye-spots in browns 
and neutral tints. 
The bird itself is 
not much larger 
than the ordinary fowl, but its splendid plumage gives 
it a length of five and a half feet and an appearance of 
large size. The impeyan pheasant (Fig. 167) is a re- 
splendent creature, ornamented with a brilliant array of 
bronze tints which in the sunlight glisten and glow like 
real metal. 



Fig. 165. — Wild Turkey. 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



193 



If 4he ordinary peacock (Fig. 168) was not so common, 
it would be the wonder of the world in its display of 
gorgeous plumage. The white peacock is equally beauti- 
ful, while the common guinea hen (Fig. 169) is a very 
attractive bird. All 
these birds have 
voices that are in- 
tensely disagreeable, 
especially that of the 
peacock. The male 
is the more beautiful. 
The female of all the 
pheasants is a demure 
bird, generally garbed 




in inconspicuous 
browns, a strange 
contrast to the proud, 
resplendent, and vain- 
glorious male, which 
in the peacock and 
turkey typifies the 
sum of vanity. 

The Chinese pheas- 
ant is one of the 
most beautiful of all 
birds, bearing among 
other colors a fiery 

yellow difficult to describe in its many hues. Pheasants 
have been successfully introduced in America, particularly 
in Oregon and Washington. 

Among the scratching birds none are more remarkable 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 1 3 



Fig. 166. — Argus Pheasant. 



194 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



than the so-called mound builders or brush turkeys of 
New South Wales. The mottled tallegallus is almost as 
large as a turkey and resembles this bird to some extent. 




Fig. 167. — Impeyan Pheasant. 

Strangers traveling through the country have been as- 
tonished at the singular mounds found in various places, 
formed of vast accumulations of refuse, seemingly thrown 
up by human hands. They are really the nests of these 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



195 



peculiar birds, which 
hatch their eggs in in- 
cubators instead of sitting 
upon them. The mound 
(Fig. 170) is formed in the 
spring and is of pyram- 
idal shape, the birds 
making it by standing 
with their backs to the 
place selected and hurling 
refuse at it, which they 
grasp in their powerful 
feet, so that they not 
only scratch, but throw. 
Some of the heaps are 
four feet in height. The 
mass soon ferments, pro- 
ducing heat, and in it 
the eggs of the birds are 
laid. They are covered 
up fifteen inches deep, bein^ 
ten inches apart, an opening 





Fig. 169. — Guinea Hen. 



Fig. 168. — Peacock. 

■ placed in a circle nine or 
being left in the center as a 
sort of ventilator to gov- 
ern the temperature. Here 
they lie, the birds sometimes 
uncovering them on very 
warm days, for thirty days, 
when the young appear. 
The latter remain in the 
mound for about twelve 
hours after they are 



196 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



hatched. On the second night they return in care of the 
male, and in three or four days are able to fly and care for 
themselves. 

The nest or mound of the ocellated leipoa of Western 
Africa is made of fine gravel mixed with grass and leaves. 




Fig. 170. — Brush Turkeys. 



One has been measured that was forty-five feet in circum- 
ference and almost five feet in height. The temperature 
in the center was 89 . Even larger than this are the 
mounds of the megapodius of Australia, some of which 
measure one hundred and fifty feet in circumference and 
are twenty feet in height. Some of these large mounds 
are the result of continual work during a number of sea- 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 197 

sons7 the mounds growing a little under the yearly system 
of repair. 

Even more remarkable are the habits of the interesting 
maleo, found in the island of Celebes — a bird which can 
almost be compared to a turtle. In appearance the bird 
resembles the guinea fowl. In August or September the 
male and female dig a hole four feet in the dry volcanic 
sand of the seashore. There a single reddish egg of re- 
markable size is laid. About two weeks later the bird 
returns, and another egg is deposited, until six or eight 
have been laid, several hens using the same nest. The 
eggs are then deserted, the heat of the sun hatching them. 
The young birds break the shell and crawl upward like 
turtles, when they are able to fly immediately and care 
for themselves. Allied to these are the strange curassows. 

The pigeons well illustrate what man can do by selec- 
tion. All the wonderful varieties — pouters, fantails, barbs, 
and others — are but mere variations of the wild pigeons. 
Of all these, the carriers are the most interesting and valu- 
able, possessing the homing instinct remarkably developed. 
Mr. Otto Zahn of Los Angeles trained his pigeons so 
that for several years they constituted the telegraph sys- 
tem between the island of Santa Catalina and Los An- 
geles, a distance of thirty miles. When any one wished to 
send a telegram, a bird would be selected, and the message, 
written on very fine paper, was wrapped in tin foil about 
its legs. Then with two other birds it was released, 
The distant mainland was often hidden by fog or cloud 
banks, but the birds would rise upward to a height of fif- 
teen hundred feet, then take a straight course for Los 
Angeles, inspired by their marvelous and unerring instinct. 



198 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



They would reach the city in about an hour. As they 
alighted on the platform and entered their coop, an elec- 
tric signal was sounded in the adjacent house. The owner 
came out, released the paper, telephoned the message to 
the telegraph office, and then fed the birds. The birds 
were returned to the island the day following on the 
steamer. To perfect this system, two flocks were main- 
tained, one at 
Santa Catalina, 
that had lived in 
Los Angeles, and 
another in Los 
Angeles that rec- 
ognized Santa Cat- 
alina as its home. 

The famous dodo 
(Fig. 171), which 
became extinct 
within historical 
times, was a gi- 
gantic pigeon in- 
capable of flight. It lived upon the island of Mauritius 
and was as large as a swan, having a large, hooked bill 
and rudimentary wings. 

There are over three hundred species of pigeons and 
doves found in different parts of the world. Many of the 
doves are very beautiful. They have one habit which 
marks them as peculiar. Nearly all birds when drinking 
insert the bill, take a very little water, and holding the 
bill upward, let the liquid run down the throat; but the 
pigeons and doves plunge the bill into the water and drink 




Fig. 171. — Dodo. 
Extinct. 



SOME SCRATCHING BIRDS 



199 




Fig. 172. — Passenger Pigeon. 



like other animals. Some make a peculiar whistling sound 
as they fly, and the notes of many are very mournful. 
The passenger pigeon (Fig. 172) is one of the most inter- 
esting of the group, 
existing in such vast 
numbers early in the 
nineteenth century that 
flocks of them often 
darkened the sun. How 
many birds were in- 
cluded in these flocks 
is not known, but it is 
estimated that a single flock contained as many birds as 
there are people upon the globe. Wilson estimated one 
of these flocks at two trillion birds; and gave* it as his 

opinion that they con- 
sumed seventeen mil- 
lion bushels of corn a day. 
A famous roosting place 
was on Green River, 
Kentucky ; and Audubon 
has described the sight 
as they arrived, breaking 
down the branches of 
trees and creating a deaf- 
ening, roaring sound. To-day the passenger pigeon is 
almost extinct. 

The mourning dove (Fig. 173) is an interesting form. 
As I write, a pair resting in a eucalyptus tree near my gar- 
den are uttering their loud and mournful call, " coo-coo-o-o" 
The nest is in almost every instance poorly made, a few 




Fig. 173. — Mourning Dove. 



200 BIRDS OF PREY 

twigs being thrown together in a most careless manner. 
Perhaps the handsomest birds of the tribe are the crowned 
pigeons of New Guinea, which are of a rich blue tint, with 
a remarkable set of plumes upon the head, giving them a 
most fantastic appearance. The feet of the doves and 
pigeons are small. These birds are valuable agents in 
transporting seeds from one part of the country to another. 
Pigeons have been killed in New York State with fresh 
rice in their crops which must have been obtained seven 
hundred miles away in Georgia. When the Dutch de- 
stroyed the nutmeg groves on all the East India islands 
except Great Banda, they found that the pigeons carried 
nuts to the various islands faster than they could pick 
them up and destroy them. 

BIRDS OF PREY 

The dove, of all birds, forms a sharp contrast to the 

fierce birds which live by preying upon others, dead or 

alive. The very appearance of 

the hawk or eagle suggests 

rapine. The eye is fierce, the 

beak is powerful and curved 

(Fig. 174), and the claws (Fig. 

175) are sharp and capable 

of grasping prey and holding 

„ , _ it with a most tenacious grasp. 

Fig. 174. — Hawk's Beak. to r 

They are rarely amenable to 
kindness. I have had several sparrow hawks which I 
attempted to tame. They fed from my hand, but were 
always ready to turn on me. A condor was more amen- 
able, allowing me to scratch its head; but a so-called pet, 




BIRDS OF PREY 



201 



a monkey-faced owl, never failed to strike at me with its 
terrible claws, all the while uttering a diabolical asthmatic 
sound. 

The visitor to Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, will 
be interested in the tur- 
key buzzards (Fig. 176), 
which are protected by 
law and are the scaven- 
gers of the city, eating all 
the refuse thrown them, 
an altogether disgusting 
bird, yet valuable in warm 
countries. Their sense of 
smell is wonderfully 
acute. In Southern Cali- 
fornia dead or dying ani- 
mals can always be found by watch- 
ing the buzzards, which can detect 
seemingly the slightest evil odor. 
The South American con- 
dor (Fig. 177) is the larg- 
est of all flying birds, 
specimens having been 
seen, according to Byam, 
with a spread of wing of 
fifteen feet. This splen- 
did bird makes its home 
in the Andes, and is often 
seen high in air over the 
Fig. 176. -Turkey Buzzard. loftiest peaks. It doubt- 




Fig. 175. — Claws of Hawks. 




202 



BIRDS OF PREY 



less ascends to a greater altitude than any other bird. 
Its flight is graceful, a marvelous spectacle of balancing 
and soaring, the bird moving for hours without perceptible 
motion of its wings. Its powers of vision are so remark- 




Fig. 177. — South American Condor. 



able that it can recognize animals at a long distance. 
Its nest is built of twigs and sticks on some inaccessible 
cliff. Closely resembling this bird is the California condor, 
formerly common from Sacramento south. I have seen it 



BIRDS OF PREY 



203 




Fig. 178. — Black Vulture. 



roosting on the oaks of the San Gabriel valley, near Pasa- 
dena, and its nest has been found near the canyon of Santa 

Monica. 

Of the European 

vultures the lammer- 

geier is the largest, 

having a spread of 

wing of eight feet. 

Many stories are told 

of these birds carry- 
ing off animals and 

children. They are 

unable, however, to 

hold large objects in 

their claws, as are the 

eagles ; but several 

large California vultures have been seen to 
drag a young grizzly bear several hundred 
feet. The black vulture (Fig. 178) is a com- 
mon form in the Southern States and South 
America, being more common along 
the seashore than in the interior. 
The hawks, so far as their habits are 
concerned, are immature eagles, 
preying upon smaller birds and 
animals, as rabbits, squirrels, fowls, 
and sparrows, They have grasp- 
ing claw T s, terrible weapons which 
not only grasp prey but penetrate it 
like knives. The pigeon hawk (Fig. 

Fig. 179. — pigeon Hawk. 179) is a familiar form, rapid in 




204 



BIRDS OF PREY 



flight ; while the duck hawk, which preys on these birds, 
is larger. 

The American osprey (Fig. 180) is an interesting bird, 
always found near the water, preying upon fish, which it 
catches, and of which it is frequently robbed by the bald 
eagle. The nest is often built in a conspicuous place. 
I once watched a pair of these birds build a nest on Santa 
Catalina Island, upon the top of a derrick 
which was in frequent use. Near the same 
place were several bald eagles which 
systematically robbed the osprey of its 
hard-earned game and in turn were 
mobbed by the ravens for pure amuse- 
ment. The fish hawk, as this bird is 
also called, catches the flying fishes at 
Santa Catalina. These fishes when chased 
by the insatiate tuna soar sometimes for 
over an eighth of a mile about a foot 
above water. The hawk perceives them 
from high in the air, and with partly 
folded wings, darts down, swift as a 
thunderbolt, stops with marvelous skill, 
and grasps the fish from above. Then it rises with victori- 
ous cries which attract the attention of the thieving bald 
eagle. 

The hawks are quickly recognized as an enemy by 
fowls, which utter a peculiar warning, understood at once 
by the young, which quickly run for cover. Yet I have 
seen a sparrow hawk so mobbed by the smallest of birds 
that it made every effort to escape. A hawk of this kind 
which I had chained to a tree in my yard created great 




Fig. 180. — Osprey. 



BIRDS OF PREY 



205 



excitement among the mocking birds and blackbirds that 
were nesting in the orange trees. They gathered in groups 
and formed a ring or circle about the hawk and loudly 
expostulated against its appearance so near their young. 

The falcons are interesting birds (Fig. 181) from the 
fact that in olden times they were used in the sport 
of falconry, the birds being 
trained to follow herons and 
other birds, while some of the 
larger forms were trained to follow 
antelope or deer. At least nine 
different species of falcons' have 
been so trained. This sport was 
known as early as 400 B.C. During 
the reign of Edward III it was 
punishable with death to kill one. 
Kublai Kahn, in 1290, owned ten 
thousand falcons. In the seven- 
teenth century the king of Persia 
employed them to hunt the wild 
boar, wild asses, foxes, and ante- fig. 181. 
lopes, and the sport is still carried 

on at Abasheher, Persia. Falconry has been attempted 
in America to a very limited extent. 

The bald eagle, the most distinguished member of the 
bird tribe is a sad thief, robbing other birds and rarely 
hunting for itself. I once counted thirty of these fine 
birds in sailing fifteen miles up the coast of Santa Catalina. 
Occasionally they have been known to attack sheep. I 
have seen them pick up dead fish near my boat, easily 
carrying off a thirty-pound yellowtail; but I never saw 




-Gray Gyrfalcon. 



206 



BIRDS OF PREY 



the eagle attempt to catch a living fish, I have found 
their nests on the summit of inaccessible cliffs. The birds 
are extremely vicious at the nesting time and have made 




Fig. 182. — Golden Eagle. 



savage attacks upon men who attempted to rob the nest. 
There is a nesting place near Avalon, and another on an 
isolated rock on the north end of the island which is added 
to year after year. 



THE OWLS AND PARROTS 207 

The^ golden eagle (Fig. 182) captures animals of various 
kinds, as hares, rabbits, and squirrels, though it will also 
eat carrion. Its nest is similar to that of the bald eagle, 
being built on the edge of cliffs out of the reach of a 
possible enemy. 

As a rule, the stories of children being carried off by 
eagles are exaggerations. The golden eagle has been 
seen to carry off a young deer and kids and even to 
lift a fox. This eagle has a spread of wing in large 
specimens of seven feet eleven inches. That of the sea 
eagle is seven feet. Such birds weigh from eight to 
sixteen pounds. 

THE OWLS AND PARROTS 

Doves in their flight make a remarkable whistling sound, 
yet the largest owls may pass within a foot of a person's 
head at night and not be discovered, so noiseless is their 
flight. This is due to their feathers, which are plumelike, 
soft, and downy, and enable the large birds to approach 
their prey without noise. They are characterized by sharp 
bills and claws like the hawks, and large, piercing eyes 
which enable them to see at night. During the days 
they hide in trees, but as the sun goes down they may 
be seen flying across country to the fields and pastures of 
their choice. Skimming over the ground noiselessly, they 
seize rabbits with their terrible talons and carry them off. 

There are about two hundred species of owls, of which 
the great horned owl is perhaps the most remarkable. 
The ordinary barn owl (Fig. 183) is a very singular 
creature in appearance. The monkey-faced owl of Cali- 



208 



THE OWLS AND PARROTS 



fornia is a strange creature nesting in the old oaks. I 

have attempted to tame this bird, but found it an irre- 
claimable savage. When I fed it, I 
Ik was obliged to wear heavy gauntlets, 

H^ as the "pet" would stop eating, and 

strike at me with beak or claw in the 
most ferocious fashion. 

The little burrowing owl (Fig. 184) is 
f&B interesting from its habits, living in the 
deserted caves of prairie dogs, and, in 
California, in the burrows of the ground 
squirrel and cottontail. The snowy owl 
is found in the north. It is often pure 
white, and when resting on the snow 
difficult to see (Fig. 185). It frequently 
haunts the ptarmigan fells in Spitz- 
bergen, where, unnoticed by these birds, 

it easily seizes them. 
The notes of the 

owls are uncanny and 

disagreeable. The 

barred owl has a call, 

" whoo, whoo, whoo, 

whoo," which can be 

heard over a mile with 

the wind, while the 

great horned owl 

utters a similar cry, 

" whoooooo," terrify- 
ing to many. The hawk owl cries on the wing, while 

the pygmy owls which I have kept hiss violently, and 




Fig. 183. —Barn Owl. 




Fig. 184. — Burrowing Owl. 



THE OWLS AND PARROTS 



209 



when approached bow repeatedly before taking to the 
wing. The eye of the black leopard has always seemed to 
me to be the most remarkable in its blaze of yellow light, 
but the huge eye of a large owl is almost as menacing. 

The parrots are essentially climbing birds. They per- 
form the most remarkable feats by means of their power- 
ful claws, which, it will be 
noticed, are arranged in pairs, 
two in front and two behind. 
They have powerful beaks, like 
the hawks, but with one excep- 
tion are not flesh-eaters, living 
upon seeds and fruit. They 
have peculiar fleshy tongues 
which can be moved in almost 
any direction, and many parrots 
can be taught to utter words 
and sentences. They have no 
intelligent understanding of 
such words, merely imitating 
what they hear and have been 
taught. But so well do many of 
their phrases fit to time and occasion, that it is almost im- 
possible to believe they are not using language after the 
fashion of man. One which was kept in a house adjoining 
my own learned to imitate the mocking birds so perfectly 
that it was difficult to distinguish between them. It also 
imitated the grewsome bellow of the burro, or donkey. It 
caught the cries of the itinerant street dealers, and spent 
much time crying at the top of its voice, " Old rags, old 
rags, bottles, old rags." 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 14 




Fig. 185. — Snowy Owl. 



210 



THE OWLS AND PARROTS 



In North America 
we have but a single 
native parrot (Fig. 
1 86), the Caro- 
lina parrot, 
and this is 
very rare. 




Fig. 187. — Cockatoo. 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 211 

In the tropics they are the most brilliantly colored and vocif- 
erous of all birds. Over four hundred species in all are 
known. They range from the beautiful little paraquets, or 
love birds, which are successfully reared in Southern 
California, to the great African macaws and cockatoos 
(Fig. 187), that look as though they had been painted for 
dazzling and grotesque effect. 

An interesting member of this group is the flesh-eating 
parrot. It is found in New Zealand, and has developed 
such a taste for sheep that it is being exterminated. The 
parrot alights upon the back of sheep, and with its sharp 
beak tears away at the flesh, killing the animal. At one 
station on the Matataahn nineteen sheep were killed in a 
single month by these small birds, and in another flock of 
three hundred and ten lambs, two hundred and five were 
killed in five months. The sheep owners were forced to 
organize against the parrots, and men were hired to shoot 
them wherever found. 

The owl parrot of New Zealand appears to resemble both 
birds, having the face of an owl but the body of a parrot. 
It is altogether a singular appearing bird. 

WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 

The Indians of certain tribes in California weave beauti- 
ful baskets which have a reddish, cloudy effect. Examina- 
tion will show that this effect is due to the fact that the 
red feathers of the California woodpecker have been 
woven in the basket. 

The woodpeckers are valuable allies to the farmer, de- 
stroying a vast number of insects injurious to vegetation. 



212 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 




Fig. 188. — Tongue of a Woodpecker. 



The feet are strong. The toes are arranged two in front 
and two behind, so that the birds can readily climb trees. 

The bill is strong, 
powerful, and 
pointed. The 
tongue (Fig. 188) 
is long and hooked 
to reach into holes 
and crevices. 
No more attract- 
ive birds are seen in the forest than the richly hued wood- 
peckers, running about the trunks and limbs, and tapping 
the bark as they move. They discover at once by the 
sound the lurking place of an 
insect or grub, and then pound 
the bark until it crumbles away 
and the grub is secured. About 
three hundred and fifty species of 
these birds are known, the flicker 
(Fig. 189) being one of the most 
familiar. In the eastern United 
States a striking and conspicuous 
form is the pileated woodpecker 
(Fig. 190), with a red crest and a 
peculiar white streak from the 
long, sharp bill downward. A few 
years ago this bird was very com- 
mon t but for some reason it is 
gradually disappearing. The ivory-billed woodpecker is a 
strikingly beautiful bird found in the Gulf States with the 
dainty hairy woodpecker. 




Fig. 189. — Flicker. 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 



213 



The woodpeckers as a rule build in trees, selecting some 

decaying knot hole and working it out until a perfect cave 

in the tree is the result. Here grass 

and leaves are placed and the white 

eggs laid. In California the traveler 

will often notice trees and woodwork 

of various kinds, as the walls of houses, 

studded with acorns. This is the work 

of the woodpecker. At the entrance 

of Mirimar, a beautiful home at Santa 

Barbara, stands a large oak almost 

completely riddled with holes, each of 

which has been made to hold an acorn 

that has been so tightly driven in as to 

make it almost impossible to remove it. 

The theory is that the acorns contain 

grubs which are to the woodpecker's 

taste, and which can be taken as occa- 
sion demands. That the birds travel long distances to 

secure the acorns is shown at Mt. Pizarro, where many 

acorn storehouses are seen, 
all the seeds having been 
brought from the mountains, 
thirty miles distant. Each 
acorn required this long flight, 
besides the labor of boring 
the hole the exact size. 

A valuable bird to the 
orchardist is the yellow-billed 

cuckoo (Fig. 191), which destroys vast numbers of worms 

injurious to the trees. It is a large, conspicuous bird with 




FiG. 190. — PlLEATED 

Woodpecker. 




Fig. 191. — Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 



214 WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 

a sharp, powerful beak. The nest is a rude affair formed 
of twigs, and is generally placed in an apple tree. It 
contains three or four greenish blue eggs. When the 
latter is threatened, the mother bird will often feign lame- 
ness to attract attention from the nest. 

The cuckoos of the Old World have a singular habit 
of avoiding the labor of nest building by depositing their 
eggs in the nests of other birds. Thus they escape the 
arduous work of incubation, which must be very monoto- 
nous and tiresome. The surprise of some small bird to 
find that it has an egg three or four times as large as its 
own, and that it has hatched a veritable giant, can be 
imagined, as the cuckoo often lays its egg in the nest of 
very small birds. In the case of an Australian cuckoo, 
the bird thus thrust upon another and innocent community 
appears to know that it is an interloper. As soon as the 
legitimate children of the nest are hatched, it deliberately 
bundles them out, thus securing all the food from the 
much-deceived parent birds. The Indian cuckoos place 
their eggs in the nests of crows. 

An allied form is the road runner, a beautiful and inter- 
esting bird which I have followed on horseback, finding 
it difficult for a while to keep up with it. It runs very 
rapidly, always keeping to the road, and flying only when 
the horse is almost upon it. It lives upon lizards, eating a 
prodigious number, and builds its nest beneath clumps of 
cactus. 

In Florida and southward to Brazil is found the ani, 
often seen standing upon cows and sheep, or clinging to 
their heads. They, run over these animals like wood- 
peckers, in search of parasites of various kinds, which they 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 21 5 

deftly remove. They are whimsical birds, and have a 
singular habit of tossing up the long tail and assuming 
queer postures. The ani is as peculiar as the cuckoo in 
its nest building. Instead of each bird having a nest, a 
number join forces and build one in which all the eggs are 
placed, the birds taking turns in the incubating process. 
This is certainly a labor-saving plan. 

Bearing a close resemblance in form and feature to the 
woodpeckers are the kingfishers. . These birds are of 
small size, with large 
heads and powerful 
beaks. They subsist upon 
fishes, which they obtain 
by plunging into ponds 
and streams. The belted 
kingfisher (Fig. 192) is 
a well-known form found 
in North America. It 

has a prominent crest 

- . , t • i Fig. 192. — Belted Kingfisher. 

and is a very showy bird, 

uttering a harsh cry as it rises from its plunge. This bird 
builds its nest in a tunnel which it excavates in a bank, the 
former being often six feet in length, in which the six clear 
white eggs are placed. 

The largest and most conspicuous of the tribe is the 
laughing-jackass kingfisher of Australia. In listening to 
the remarkable vocal sounds which it produces one could 
hardly believe that they came from so small a bird, the 
sounds being like the loud, uproarious laughter of a demo- 
niac native. The racket-tailed kingfisher (Fig. 193) is 
perhaps the most beautiful, with racketlike tail feathers, 




2l6 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 




,^^; 



Fig. 193. — Racket-tailed Kingfisher. 



One of the most attractive 
birds, so far as brilliant plum- 
age is concerned, found on 
the North American continent 
is the trogon (Fig. 194), a bril- 
liant, long-tailed creature with 
red under feathers and coat 
and tail of lustrous metallic 
green. The tail feathers in 
the resplendent trogon are 
three times the length of the 
bird. Seen in the tropical 
forests of South America, it 
is one of the most gorgeous 
objects to be imagined. The 
nest is generally placed in a 
hollow tree, the eggs resem- 
bling those of the pigeon. 

In studying birds one would 
naturally believe that those 
provided with huge and power- 
ful bills were the most aggres- 
sive, but almost exactly the 
reverse holds true. The tou- 
cans (Fig. 195) have most ex- 
traordinary bills, long and 
heavy. So far as appearances 
go, they would seem to be a 
menace to all other birds ; yet 
this big-beaked creature is one 
of the most harmless of birds, 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 



217 



Fig. 194. — Trogon 



preying only upon young 
birds or eggs. Indeed, so far 
as known there is no rational 
use for the huge 
and menacing bills 
except to steal 
young birds from 
\ 7\\^ 1/^ deep nests. Instead 
Mv of being heavy, the 

bill is very light and 
porous. 
The hornbills are even more remarkable. 
They have a double bill filled with air cells, 
and in reality not the ponderous object it 
might be supposed, although 
it is ten inches in length, and 
the bills are serrated. 

The nesting 
habits of this 
quaint bird are 
almost beyond 
belief. A tree 
is selected, hav- 
ing a crevice 
which is en- 
larged until it 
will hold 
the female. 

The moment the nest is complete the 
male flies off, returning with mud, 
with which he walls up the orifice. 




Fig. 195. — Toucan. 



218 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 



making his mate a prisoner. Many trips are necessary 
before this is accomplished, but finally the feathered 
mason completes the work, leaving a small orifice through 
which the female extends her bill to receive the food 
which he brings. Here the eggs are laid and the young 
are reared. The mother is released when the little horn- 
bills are able to leave the nest, 
sometimes before. 

Very much like the owls, so 
far as their silent flight is con- 
cerned, are the night hawks 
(Fig. 196). They are night 
flyers, feeding upon small in- 
sects. They dart about, as silent 
as the bats which keep them 
company, only the snapping of 
their triangular bills being heard 
as they feed on the wing. As 
might be expected, their mouths 
are enormous. Not long ago, 
ignorant farmers believed that 
they milked cows and goats, the name Caprimulgus refer- 
ring to this supposed habit. 

The whip-poor-will is one of the best-known birds of 
this class. It is a solitary, grayish hued bird, with the sin- 
gular mournful cry suggested by its name. The nest is very 
simple, the eggs finding protection in their resemblance to 
the leaves. Audubon observed a parent bird take its egg 
in its capacious mouth and fly away ; and Dr. Brehm saw 
both the male and female night hawk save their eggs by 
this expedient. In darting through the air they use the 




Fig. 196. — Night Hawk. 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 219 

enormous mouth as a trap to engulf insects. They have a 
peculiar arrangement of bristles on the roof of the mouth, 
in which the insects possibly become entangled ; in any 
event, it aids in the capture of many which otherwise 
might escape. 

About one hundred species of night hawks are known. 
Some of the largest prey upon small birds, perhaps think- 
ing that they are insects. It is known that humming 
birds and small spar- 
rows have been eaten 
by the large species. 

Beautiful and attract- 
ive birds are the swifts 
(Fig. 197). The family 
contains seventy - five 
species, found in almost 
every land. I have seen 
their nests in the great 
painted cave of Santa fig. 197. - swift. 

Cruz, twenty miles off 

the California coast. They are famed for their marvelous 
powers of flight and endurance, spending the greater part 
of their time on the wing in the search of the insects 
which constitute their food. Their wings are long and 
pointed. Their feet are very weak, and they eat, drink, 
and bathe on the w T ing. The chimney swift, so named 
from its habit of gluing twigs to the sides of chimneys, 
is a common form, of social habit. 

The most interesting and valuable member of the tribe 
is the edible-nest swift (Fig. 198), which forms a glue- 
like nest used by Chinese epicures in making a soup, and 




220 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 



so highly valued that the business of collecting the nests 
is one of much importance in China. The nests are 
built, as a rule, on the face of a cliff, in a most dangerous 
position. The men who gather them are lowered down by 
ropes. Lives are frequently lost in this dangerous occu- 
pation. The 
nest building 
is very re- 
markable. The 
bird, having 
selected a site, 
presses saliva 
against the 
wall, repeat- 
ing this day 
after day and 
week after 
week, adding 
a mere drop 
at a time. The 
saliva hardens 
and resembles 
light amber, 
pure at first 

and attractive, but soon discolored by the birds. In this 
gelatinous nest the eggs are laid and the young reared. 
The nests are extremely valuable if newly made, and are 
sold in all grades of age and griminess to the Chinese, 
who cleanse them. In every well-conducted Chinese 
grocery or drug store this stock for soup can be had by 
the pound or ounce. 




Fig. 198. — Edible-nest Swift. 




WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 221 

In Guatamala an interesting swift builds a tubular nest, 
three or four feet in length, along the face of a cliff. 

The humming birds are the smallest of birds. More 

than four hundred species are known, all confined to 

North and South America (Fig. 199). The ruby-throated 

hummer is one of the best known throughout America, a 

very small, long-billed creature, the male having a splendid, 

ruby-red gorget. It is a 

common form in my garden 

at Pasadena, California, its 

peculiar hissing, chirping note 

being frequently heard. By planting 

the abutilon in the vicinity, I have 

! A , .., .1 Fig. iqq. — Humming Bird. 

encouraged these atoms until they 

are constant visitors, winter and summer, and they often 

nest in the orange trees. Here at times one may see 

specimens of no less than six species of humming birds. 

On Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands a beautiful 

racket-tailed humming bird has been observed. 

These little creatures live on the minute insects they 
find in flowers, and doubtless suck some of the liquid 
sweets found there. At least a young humming bird, 
which I have tamed and which feeds from my hands, is 
very fond of sweetened water. 

The birds in my garden spend at least half of their time 
on the wing, supporting themselves in the air when feeding. 
When weary they go to a certain limb or branch to rest, 
almost invariably selecting the same spot. They bathe 
after the fashion of other birds when water is provided, but 
the rufus often prefers to bathe in the very fine spray 
from the hose which I turn on. The little creature will 



222 



WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 




Fig. 200. — Humming Bird 
and Nest. 



sometimes dart through it, displaying great pleasure and 
delight. Some of these birds are so tame that I can almost 

touch them. The nest (Fig. 
200) is a beautiful object made 
of the downy material from 
seeds and of delicate moss or 
the wool of sheep. I find them 
in orange trees, eucalyptus, and 
others, and they so resemble 
the color of the limb that it is 
almost impossible to detect 
them. Two young humming 
birds brought into the house 
became very tame ; feeding from the hand, following me 
from room to room, and awakening me in the morning 
with demands for food. 

The courtship of many of these birds is a remarkable 
sight. The male rises upward several hundred feet, then 
dives down like an arrow, making a loud humming sound, 
to rise again. He repeats this indefinitely for the enter- 
tainment of the demure female perched on a limb hard by. 
The South American humming birds are beautiful beyond 
description, the metallic tints prevailing. 

Small as are the humming birds, they are very pug- 
nacious. Those which habitually live in my garden 
attempt to drive out all others. They often combine and 
attack large birds, especially hawks, putting these birds or 
even butcher birds to flight by striking them with the ut- 
most fury. In combats among themselves, they often 
kill one another, dashing together like furies. 

At the corner of my house a spider built a web so 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



223 



strong that I found a ruby-throat completely entangled, 
not only caught by a web, but bound hard and fast by the 
big spider, which doubtless supposed that it had caught 
a large insect of some kind. 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 

By far the largest number of birds are included in this 
group, distinguished for its rare singers and the individ- 
uals valuable to the agriculturist. 
Their feet are quite different in 
arrangement from those previously 
observed, having three toes in front 
and one behind. The beak is an 
important factor in determining the 
various subdivisions into which birds 
of this group are separated. 

The flycatchers are familiar birds, 
of great variety, with broad, tri- 
angular-shaped, abruptly hooked bills. 
The scissors-tailed flycatcher (Fig. 
201) is a beautiful creature, with a 
deeply forked tail and scarlet patches 
Fig. 201.— Scissors-tailed on the side of the body. In the king- 
birds (Fig. 202) are familiar forms, 
while the phoebes and the peewees are all well known 
and well beloved by those who frequent the woods and 
forests. The nests of these birds are models of ingenuity, 
that of the kingbird being made of many different ob- 
jects, and the great-crested flycatcher has a singular habit 
of using snakeskins which have been discarded to entwine 




224 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



about its nest. The eggs of the kingbird are six in num- 
ber, reddish white, with brown streaks ; the male is a type 

of bravery, driving off the large 
birds, including hawks and even 
eagles. 

The flycatchers, as their name 
indicates, are very clever in cap- 
turing insects, their sharp bills 
being perfectly adapted to this 
pursuit. Allied to the flycatchers 
is the beautiful lyre bird of New 
South Wales, whose tail, in the 
male, in its graceful shape re- 
sembles the lyre (Fig. 203). The 
male of this bird builds, aside 
from the nest, a dome-shaped, 
moundlike structure upon which 
it poses and postures. 
Of all the song birds, the skylark (Fig. 204) is con- 
ceded to be the most attractive, the type of thoroughly 
joyous nature. It sings as it rises 
high into the heavens, its melody 
faintly dying away with ever in- 
creasing sweetness. The streaked 
horned lark is often found in 
flocks near the seacoast and is 
called the shore lark. 

The crows and ravens are 
among the birds of more than 
ordinary interest. Who does 
not remember "Grip" and his fig. 203. — lyre bird. 




Fig. 202. — Kingbird. 




SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



225 



" Polly, put the kettle on and we'll all take tea " 
(Fig. 205), and other phrases which the ravens learn to 
utter under skillful instructors ? 

The raven is a handsome bird, clothed 
in jet-black garb with metallic re- 
flections. It is some larger than^ 
the crow. 

When I first visited Santa 
Catalina Island, Cali- 
fornia, I found the* 
ravens very common 
and social, watching 
the fishermen and ' 2 ° 4 ' 

stealing fish if the opportunity offered. When the wind 
blew heavily, the ravens gathered in flocks and began a 
remarkable series of lofty tumbling, sweeping down in 
great curves and turning repeated 
somersaults as they flew. I saw this 
repeated again and again. 

No more clever thieves could be 

imagined than those Santa 

Catalina ravens. Sev- 




- Skylark. 




eral would approach a 

brood of young 

turkeys ; one bird 

would hop up and 

down on one side, 

thus attracting the 
Fig. 205. — Raven. . r .. . 

attention of the mother ; 

then, as she rushed in that direction, another raven would dart 

forward and seize a young bird. In this way the brood would 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — 1 5 



226 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



be depleted by the scheming 
and clever birds. The nests 
of the ravens were built on 
almost inaccessible cliffs. 

The crow is much smaller 
(Fig. 206), and its " caw-w, 
caw-w" is a familiar note all 
over the country. During the 
day it forages for food, re- 
turning every night to the 
same roost, often a veri- 
table crow city. Along 




Fig. 206. — Crow. 

shore the crows 
are very clever, 
opening clams by 
dropping them 
from a height. At 
Ocean Point, 
Maine, I saw them 




Fig. 207. — Bird of Paradise. 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



227 



break open echini in the same way, the rocks being covered 
with the shells. 

Closely related to the crows are the gorgeous birds of 
paradise (Fig. 207) of New Guinea, whose beauties and 
remarkable decorations are almost beyond adequate de- 
scription. The male is the more beautiful, the female 
being a very demure bird in a suit of brown. They fly in 
flocks. The emerald bird is the best known, the king 
bird of paradise (Fig. 
208) being one of the 
most strangely marked. 
These birds were long 
supposed by some to 
be footless, but this 
was due to the fact that 
the natives invariably 
cut their legs off before 
they sold them. So for 
years a bird of paradise 
with legs was never 
seen. 

The mouse birds 
(Colius) resemble swallows, but their feathers are so fine 
that they are like hair. The feet are bright red, the four 
toes all extending forward. 

The wiriwa, as the natives term it, is found in thick 
vines darting in and out at times like a mouse. Accord- 
ing to Vaillant these birds roost like bats, clinging one to 
the other, with the head down. They are fruit eaters. 

The jays (Fig. 209) are among our interesting and 
highly ornamental birds. The blue jay is a large, crested 




Fig. 208. — King Bird of Paradise. 



228 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 




Fig. 209. — Jay. 



bird of much personal beauty, but of many bad habits. 
Its worst fault, perhaps, is that of devouring other birds 

and their eggs. It is 
a great mimic and 
rivals the magpie 
(Fig. 210) in the dis- 
cordant notes it can 
utter. 

Among the allied 
birds of interesting 
habits are the ox- 
biters, African birds 
resembling the star- 
lings, with strong bills and hooked claws. There are 
several species, and nearly all have the habit 
of running over animals — oxen, camels, and 
others — to find the various insects which 
infest them. They have been called guardian 
birds, as upon the appearance of a foe they 
rise, uttering loud cries, thus warning the 
animal. 

In my garden grows a tall, 
graceful Abyssinian banana, 
its leaves at least eight feet 
in length and a foot in width. 
In the spring, a beautifully 
colored bird, yellow and black, 
comes and tries to take pos- 
session. It takes a long cord 
or thread from a dragoon palm in the front of the house, 
and, using its bill as a needle, sews in and out the side 




Fig. 210. — Magpie. 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



±2<) 



of the leaf to the midrib until it has a cornucopia-Uke 
shape, and in this it builds its nest. In a neighbor's yard 




Fig. 211. — Nest of the Oriole. 



it started one in a bayonet palm, then gave it up and 
built another directly over it. A human being can not 
sew more deftly for the purpose than this charming 



230 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 




Fig. 212. — Baltimore Oriole. 



Bullock's oriole, so famous for its pendulous nests (Fig. 

2Il). 

The Baltimore oriole (Fig. 212) has a costume of orange- 
red, its head black, 
also the upper back 
and wings. The tail 
is orange and black. 
Its note is melodi- 
ous and as striking as 
its general appearance. 
The blackbirds (Fig. 
213) are interesting 
creatures. Some nest in 
my garden in orange 
trees, in May. The red-winged blackbird is the common 
form in the great swamps along the Pacific. These birds 
roost in the tulle swamps, and I have watched them rising 
at sunrise, a most 
interesting per- 
formance. They 
appeared to be in bands 
of from five hundred 
to one thousand. At 
a seeming signal, a 
band would rise and fly 
away to some inland 
feeding ground. Two minutes later, another flock of 
about the same size would rise, uttering loud cries. And 
this would be repeated until scores of battalions had gone 
forth for the day's work. I once saw a large drove of 
black pigs with one or two blackbirds standing upon the 




Fig. 213. —Blackbird. 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



231 




back of each pig, and searching for pests — a work which 

the animals did not resent. 

One of the very common birds in California, and one 

whose note is very sweet, is the 

meadow lark (Fig. 214). Its song 

is very singular, almost ventrilo- 

quistic. 

The little cowbird (Fig. 215) has 

a habit similar to that of the Euro- 
pean cuckoo; it refuses absolutely 

to build a nest, and deposits its eggs 

in that of some other bird, watching 

its opportunity. Some birds dis- 
cover the cheat and throw the 

intruder out ; others, again, desert 

the nest or build over it, refusing to 

be a party to the fraud. 

The bobolink is one of our common meadow birds of 

charming song two months in the year. The male makes 

two changes of 
plumage annually; 
in other words, it 
molts twice, at 
each time having 
a very different 
appearance (Figs. 
216, 217). 
In Australia we find several remarkable cousins of these 

birds. Notable among these are the bower birds (Fig. 

218), which erect houses or bowers very much as men build 

ballrooms or art galleries ; in a word, entirely for pleasure, 



Fig. 214. — Meadow Lark. 




-Cowbird. 



232 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



and distinct from the nest proper. The satin bower bird 
is about as large as the magpie, and builds its bower by 

selecting twigs of suitable size 
and arranging them in a plat- 
formlike shape. Then long 
twigs are selected and planted, 
or thrust into the ground in 
lines, so that the tops fall over, 
|x forming a more or less perfect 
J arch. Thus a cabin is formed, 
much more complete than that 
made by the lowest human 
tribes. This is the work of the 
male, and is an art gallery or 
playhouse, pure and simple. 
Upon its completion, the birds 
from far and near bring shells, 
bones, twigs, and highly colored 
stones, and scatter them about as ornaments. When this 
is completed, the 
birds dance and hop 
around and through 
the bower, with 
every evidence of 
delight. They pick 
up the various ob- 
jects of art and carry 
them about, rear- 
ranging them with 
every evidence of 
pleasure 




Fig. 216. — Bobolink. 




Fig. 217. — Male Bobolink. 
Autumn. 



SOME PERCHING BIRDS 



233 



Another bovver bird makes a different playhouse, and one 
in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 
in Cambridge has over half a peck of decorations made up 




Fig. 218. — Courtship of Bower Birds. 

of the most extraordinary lot of refuse it would seem pos- 
sible to collect, yet all beautiful to the eyes of the birds. 
Most of the objects were the white shells of a snail, four 
hundred of these alone being counted, showing that here, 



234 SOME PERCHING BIRDS 

indeed, was a feathered conchologist. The rest was made 
up of shining stones, agates, brightly hued seeds and pods, 
white bones, skulls of small animals, and countless small 
objects which might catch the eye of a bird or a young 
child. 




Fig. 219. — Gardener Bird. 

Even more remarkable is the gardener bird of the island 
of Papua (Fig. 219), that builds a perfect hut or house, and 
lays out a garden simply to gratify its love for the beauti- 
ful and that of its mate. When the first white men visited 
this island, they heard from the natives strange stories of a 
bird that built such a home. They did not believe these 
stories, but so insistent were they that an Italian naturalist 
made a special search for it, and was finally repaid by 
finding the bird and seeing it in its house. 



THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS 



235 



The latter is entirely separate from the nest. In making 
it, the bird selects a small tree, and about a foot from the 
ground attaches a bunch of moss. This is to form the 
support of the roof. It now selects a fast-growing orchid, 
and placing the large end of the twig about a foot and a 
half from the central tree, allows it to fall over so that the 
top rests upon the moss ball. Scores of others are placed 
side by side until a circle is completed, and we have a 
tent-shaped structure, an opening or door being left at one 
side. The orchid grows rapidly and the roof interlaces 
and forms a solid covering. In front of the door delicate, 
rich green mosses are planted until the space has the ap- 
pearance of a green lawn or meadow. Finally, the re- 
markable bird scatters bright flowers of all kinds, which 
are carried away as soon as they fade and replaced by 
others. 

THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS 



Among the best-known birds are the sparrows, many of 
which remain all the year in the North and lend a charm 
to winter by their frolics in the snow. The sparrows, 
finches, and grosbeaks, 
and their cousins (Fig. 
220) represent over five 
hundred and fifty species. 
Among them are some of 
the most charming and 
interesting birds found 
anywhere. In this group 
are the canary, of sweet- fig. 220. -vesper sparrow. 




236 



THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS 



est melody, the song sparrow, with its wonderful notes, 
and a great variety of other birds. 

The doughty English sparrow is, sad to relate, a well- 
known figure in this group. It was introduced from Eng- 
land, some years ago, in the hope that it would rid the 
trees of the canker worms, but the birds proved to be seed 

eaters as well, and 
in large cities like 
New York have 
proved themselves 
such nuisances that 
they have to be 
killed off periodi- 
cally. They have 
increased in a mar- 
velous fashion, 
spreading over the 
country, many 
going west on 
grain cars, until 
they now have a 
very wide distribu- 
tion in America. 
They are the best 
known among the common birds of the garden and forest 
adjacent to towns and cities. The nests of these birds are 
often wonders of architectural skill. 

The house finch, or linnet, a very common bird in 
Southern California, nests in the tecoma and other vines 
that cling about my house. They are so tame that the 
entire operation of nest building and bird rearing is 




Fig. 221. — Song Sparrow. 



THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS 



237 



easily observed from the window. Under a neighbor's 
porch is a plant in a pot swinging by a wire ; a finch has 
taken possession and built its 
nest. In my garden, which con- 
tains orange trees, palms, pines, 
and a number of other trees, 
a variety of these small birds 
nest, and in the spring add 
materially to the beauty of the 
garden. There are goldfinches, 
wild canaries, song sparrows 
(Fig. 221), and others. Oc- 
casionally a western evening 
grosbeak is seen. 

The cardinal grosbeak (Fig. 
222) is one of the most inter- 
esting of birds of the East or 
South. In Florida I found 

them very social. The common cage birds are splendid 

songsters and beauti- 
ful in appearance, 
having fine red crests 
and bills. Winter 
does not drive them 
away in the North- 
ern States. In the 
trees covered with 
snow they present a 
fig. 223. -indigo bunting. charming contrast. 

The buntings (Fig. 223) are interesting birds, especially 
the indigo bunting, with its bright blue colors. The 




Fig. 222. — Cardinal Grosbeak. 




238 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



painted bunting, the lark bunting, and the blue grosbeak 
are allied forms of great beauty that is exceeded only in the 

goldfinches (Fig. 
224), the European 
form of which has 
been introduced 
into America, and 
is now fairly com- 
mon near New 
York and Boston. 
It is a welcome ad- 
dition, far different 
from the irrepress- 
ible English spar- 
row, which has preempted half the United States and 
invariably drives out other birds. 




Fig. 224. — European Goldfinch. 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 

One of the charming birds of the canyons of the Sierra 
Madre in California is the Louisiana tanager, with its crim- 
son head, yellow body, black wings and tail (Fig. 225). 
The scarlet tanager .^0% 
is the best known in 
the East, its fiery red 
plumage making it a con- 
spicuous objectwherever 
seen. Three hundred 
species of tanagers are 
known, and they are 
among the most charm- 




Fig. 225. — Louisiana Tanager. 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



239 



ing and useful of all birds, enlivening forest and glade with 

their songs, distinct aids to nature in beautifying the world. 

Almost everywhere we may find the swallows, which 




Fig. 226. — Swallow and Nest. 



seem to be preeminently social and the companions of 
man (Fig. 226). They have long, slender, pointed wings, 
short, broad beaks, pointed tails, and very small and deli- 



240 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AiND OTHERS 



cate feet. Their nests, as a rule, are at the end of tunnels. 
Many build extraordinary mud tunnels, carrying the mud 
from pools in their mouths and plastering it in the desired 
shape. In a mud pool near my stable I have seen a flock 
of swallows carrying off mud to an old building, while 
among them were scores of mud-dauber wasps, also tak- 
ing mud to carry into the same building for a similar 

purpose. 

An Australian mar- 
tin builds a remark- 
able structure bearing 
a resemblance to an 
inverted bottle fas- 
tened to the cliff at 
its base. There are 
about eighty species 
of swallows, which 
pass much time in 
mid-air, feeding on the wing, catching gnats, flies, and a 
variety of insects. They are all remarkable for their flight 
and for the vast number of miles they must traverse every 
day. 

Among the birds of greatest beauty are the waxwings 
(Fig. 227). The crested waxwing, known better per- 
haps as the cedar bird, with its rich brown coat, and tail 
feathers tipped with yellow, is a familiar form in America. 
The peculiar red, waxlike dots on the wings make it a 
marked and beautiful object. In early spring I have seen 
flocks filling the pepper trees in California, eating the red 
berries with avidity, then moving on in their migration. 
Among the California birds the shrikes are noticeable 




Fig. 227. — Waxwing. 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



241 




Fig. 228. — Shrike. 



(Fig. 228). They are gray-backed, powerful birds, with 

all the ferocity of hawks. They prey upon other birds 

and various small animals, 

and display an amount of 

ferocity that is almost un- 
paralleled among birds. I 

noticed them particularly 

at the foot of the Sierra 

Madre in California, in the 

San -Gabriel valley. They 

would dash at a bird cage 

when hung out, cling to it 

with one claw, and reach 

for the frightened canary 

with the other, sometimes 

securing the bird, while it 

was utterly demoralized by the attack. One dashed violently 

at my window in its attempt to secure a bird within. They 

have a singular habit 
of impaling lizards 
upon the thorns of 
orange trees, and I 
have found four or 
five bleaching skele- 
tons on a single tree. 
The butcher bird 
will attach bright- 
colored cloth or 

string to the branches of trees in the same way ; hence the 

object is not always to eat its prey. The notes of these 

birds are often heard in the chaparral. 

HOLDER, F. R. & B. — l6 




Fig. 229. — Blue-headed Vireo. 



242 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



The vireos (Fig. 229) are beautiful little creatures and 
with the warbler represent a large group of small but 

charming birds. The 
latter occur in seem- 
ingly endless variety 
(Figs. 230, 231). One 
hundred species of wood 
warblers are known. 
They are small but 
brilliant birds, loving 
thickets and dense 




Fig. 230. — Yellow-throated Warbler. 



shrubbery, and all insect eaters. I have noticed that they 
are learning to eat the peculiar scale insects, the pest of 
the orange grower. Many of these delicate birds fly 
twenty or even fifty miles to the islands off shore. I have 
seen several at Santa Catalina Island. The dusky and 
Audubon's warbler, 
the dwarf hermit 
thrush, the wren, the 
cedar waxwing, the 
shrike, the towhee, 
and numerous spar- 
rows are all seem- 
ingly at home and 
contented in this 
mountainous island twenty miles off shore. 

One of our rarest and most melodious singers, accord- 
ing to Dr. Coues, is the pipit (Fig. 232). He says : " No 
other bird music heard in our land compares with the 
wonderful strains of this songster; there is something not 
of earth in the melody coming from above, yet from no 




Fig. 231. — Hooded Warbler. 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



243 




visible source. The whole air seems to be filled with 

tender strains." 

Few birds are better liked than the wrens (Fig. 233). 

These minute and 

attractive little 

creatures are found 

in many dooryards. 

The home wren in 

particular builds 

its nest in old 

boxes or hollow 

posts provided for 

it (Fig. 234). The 

, , Fig. 232. — American Pjpit. 

party-colored wren 

builds a beautiful cone-shaped nest which is fastened to 

reeds in swampy places. In South America we find the 

cock of the rock 

(Fig. 235),abrilliant, 

yellow bird with a very 

prominent crown or 

crest. The coat is so 

^ ... rich in color that years 

ago it was used to 

make the official robe of the 

emperor of Brazil. These birds 

have a peculiar habit at times 

of forming in rings or circles, 

one bird at a time entering and 

going through a regular performance, leaping into the 

air, jumping up and down, and evidently trying to outdo 

its predecessor. 




Fig. 233. — Wren. 



244 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 




The weaver birds 
(Fig. 236) are among 
the most ingenious of 
the feathered tribe. 
The oriole is a mar- 
velous worker with 
its needlelike bill ; but 
it is outdone by the 
weavers. The social 
weaver birds live in 
a regular bird city, a 
joint nest having a 
perfect thatched roof 
being often built, 
which looks as though 
made by human 
hands. Others are 



1 "% ( : , 

Fig. 234. — Nest of the Wren. 



suspended from reeds over streams in the 

most skillful manner, proving the weavers 

to be among the most remarkable of 

their kind so far as constructive 

ability is concerned. I have often 

watched these birds 

building their nests 

with wool and threads 

provided them, and the 

ingenuity displayed is 

astonishing. 




Cock of the Rock. 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



245 



~"The strange umbrella bird (Fig. 237) has what is -virtu- 
ally an umbrella over its head — a large crest. Another 
remarkable form is the bell bird, that bears upon its head 
a seeming horn, its peculiar bell-like note being so pene- 




Fig. 236. — Nest of Weaver Bird. 

trative that it is heard a long distance over the solitudes 
in which it lives. 

Among the remarkable builders is the hanging tit (Fig. 
238), whose nest is a bag-shaped structure with a perfect 
door. The tailor bird of India (Fig. 239) is still more 
striking, sewing leaves to a larger one to form a sheet or 
pocket, in which its nest is built and the young reared, 



246 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 




Fig. 237. — Umbrella Bird. 



swinging in the 
wind. Some of the 
South American 
humming birds form 
a similar nest, utiliz- 
ing a pointed leaf, 
the nest so resem- 
bling the latter that 
it can hardly be seen. 
In reviewing the 
birds in a general 
way, we have looked 
upon them in an 
ascending series. 



We now approach the very high- 
est forms — the robin and thrush and 
their cousins. The mocking bird 
(Fig. 240) is a well-known form, espe- [| 
daily in the East and South and in 
California. There are several nests in 
my orange trees and in the gold of 
Ophir rosebushes over the door 
Several birds can always 
be seen, making the lives 
of dogs and cats miserable by 
chasing them about and peck- 
ing at them, or following one 
about the garden. They have a 
habit of perching on chimneys 
and singing in the loudest 

tones all night long, imitating fig. 238. — hanging tit and 

Nest. 




TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



247 



over and over sounds or notes they 
have heard. The powers of mimicry 
of this bird are marvelous. In fact, 
all the notes of the mocking bird 
appear to reflect something that it 
has heard. 

Closely allied is the catbird (Fig. 
241). Its notes are more melodious 





Fig. 240. — Mocking Bird. Fig. 239. — Nest of Tailor Bird. 

than those of the mocking bird, but when disturbed it 
utters loud, discordant protests. 

A rich giver of melody 
is the brown thrasher, 
that sings loudly and 
openly to all the world, 
and seems to glory in its 
song. The water ouzel 
is an interesting bird, 
whose nest is found by 
streams, and which has a >_< 

peculiar habit of flying Fig. 241. -Catbird. 




248 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



into the water, using its wings and walking along the 
bottom, searching for food. 

Of all the singers, the nightingale of Europe is perhaps 
the most famed for the rich quality of its melody. Both 
sexes sing. It is a shy bird, rarely seen ; yet the burst of 
song which sometimes breaks forth from some roadside 
shrubbery tells the story of one of the 
most glorious of all singers. The nest 
is carefully made, and is one of the 
most perfect of all bird structures. 

Among the most beautiful forms of 
the feathered tribe are the bluebirds, 
a small blue-backed little creature, 
charming in every sense. Once the 
commonest of birds about American 
homes, it has literally been driven 
away by the pugnacious English spar- 
row. In my garden, the western blue- 
bird nests. In the spring of 1903, 
four or five young appeared, and be- 
came so tame that I could almost take 
them in my hand. The mountain bluebird is also com- 
mon in Southern California, being seen in the arroyos in 
small flocks. 

What can be more beautiful than the thrushes (Fig. 242), 
with their sweet notes ? The wood thrush, Wilson's, the 
hermit thrush, and the dwarf hermit thrush are common on 
the Southern California islands. The robin (Fig. 243), a 
typical bird, is common in the East, being the messenger 
of spring. This bird migrates hundreds of miles, yet often 
returns to the same dooryards and rebuilds, or builds over. 




Fig. 242. — Thrush. 



TANAGERS, SWALLOWS, AND OTHERS 



249 



the old last year's nest. Its place is taken in California 

by the western robin. I have seen flocks of hundreds filling 

the pepper trees in 

Pasadena, causing a 

shower of berries 

to fall from the 

well-filled trees. The 

eastern robin is a 

very social bird, 

every garden being 

preempted by one 

or more. The apple 




Fig. 243. — Robin. 



trees are especially to their liking for nest building, and 
no bird is more essentially identified with the home life 

of the average Amer- 
ican in the country 
than this red or 
brown breasted little 
creature. Without 
great powers of 
song, it is undoubt- 
edly the favorite 
bird of the masses. 
These birds and 
their cousins (the 




Fig. 244. — Hermit Thrush. 



thrushes, Fig. 244) are among the most appreciated and 
beloved of all the birds, and unusual efforts are being 
made to protect them in various parts of the East, where 
aliens, especially Italians, look upon them as game birds 
and kill them off. 



250 BIRD MIGRATION 

BIRD MIGRATION 

The birds reviewed in the present volume represent but 
a fraction of the vast army of feathered songsters known. 
Only a few examples of the most important families have 
been referred to, but sufficient to show that they do not 
lack in interest when compared with other animals. With 
their brilliant colors and their beautiful songs,. they add to 
the charms of the forest and woodland and make the 
world more beautiful. They are also a great aid to the 
farmer in reducing the number of insect pests, with which 
the trees are well supplied. The birds have varied tastes. 
Some, as we have seen, are flesh eaters, some eat their own 
kind, others prefer tainted flesh, others insects, while a 
vast number are seed-eaters. 

It is evident that many birds are threatened with extinc- 
tion during intensely cold weather and the absence of 
food. The crows, certain sparrows, birds of prey, owls, 
and others do not mind the changes, and eke out a living 
in the most rigorous seasons ; but the vast majority of birds 
recognize the approach of winter as a closed season for 
them, and a vast movement begins all over the country. 
As though a signal had been given, the birds by tens of 
thousands turn to the south and fly to countries where the 
winter is open and the food supply sure. 

How birds find their way over vast wastes and seas is 
somewhat of a mystery ; but instinct and memory play a 
prominent part, and from lofty heights the birds certainly 
remember the great landmarks. Mountain ranges, like 
the Rockies, the Coast Range, and the Andes, are lines of 
migration. So also are the great valleys and rivers, as the 



BIRD MIGRATION 25 1 

Mississippi and other natural highways. The birds from 
the smallest hummer to the large herons and geese, fly 
twice a year, one of the smallest humming birds making 
its way from Central America to a point near the Arctic 
Circle. 

Many of the birds fly at night, which makes their prog- 
ress even more remarkable. Astronomers studying the 
moon have seen birds at a great height, flying across its 
face. The magnitude of this night migration is shown at 
the large lighthouses along our coasts, especially the light 
at Helgoland, between France and England, where on 
stormy nights the sight from the light is a strange one. 
The birds appear to be bewildered by the glare, and fairly 
fill the air about it. Then, as though fascinated, they 
plunge into it as a moth into a candle, and fall dead or 
dying to be picked up by scores in the morning. The 
lights are often endangered by large geese or ducks which 
crash into it. The keepers of these lights keep a record 
of the birds so killed ; nearly all kinds are represented. 

Many birds fly directly across the Gulf of Mexico from 
South America. This is shown by the fact that in the 
spring I have found warblers, rails, gallinules, herons, 
cuckoos, and many small birds resting in the mangrove 
trees at the island of Tortugas, sixty miles west of Key 
West. The birds would rest a few days or hours, and 
then continue their flight northward over the Gulf without 
a point in sight to guide them. In crossing the Mexican 
Gulf, in 1903, a number of birds came aboard ship. A 
flicker spent one night in my stateroom, leaving when we 
sighted land, and several hawks followed the ship across 
the Gulf, occasionally alighting on the yards. 



252 BIRD MIGRATION 

Many birds make but a partial migration, while others 
fly from the tropics to the farthest North and back every 
year. The migrating of the small birds is not often 
noticed; but that of the ducks, geese, cranes, and herons 
is a splendid spectacle, the birds stretching out in a long 
line, led by a single individual. 



INDEX 



Acara, 52. 
Adjutant bird, 180. 
Air bladder, 18. 
Albatross, 26, 159. 
Alligator, 128. 
Amblystoma, 87. 
Amia, 82. 
Anabas, 65. 
Angler, 20. 
Ani, 214. 
Antennarius, 50. 
Apteryx, 141, 148. 
Archaeopteryx, 138. 
Argyropelecus, .33. 
Aspredo, 45. 
Auk, 152. 
Avocet, 186. 
Axolotl, 87. 

Barb, 134. 
Barbule, 134. 
Barrow egg, 44. 
Bat, 218. 
Bathyophis, 36. 
Beaks, 131, 200. 
Beryx, 34. 

Bird of Paradise, 227. 
Bittern, 183. 
Blackbird, 230. 
Bluebird, 248. 
Bluefish, 42. 
Bobolink, 231. 
Bobwhite, 190. 
Booby, 165. 
Bower bird, 231. 
Box turtle, 114. 
Brain of bird, 135. 
Breastbone, 132. 
Bulb, 35. 
Bullfrog, 90. 
Bunting, 237. 
Buzzard, 201. 



Candle fish, 79. 
Canvasback duck, 173. 
Caprimulgus, 218. 
Carp, 43. 
Cassowary, 146. 
Catbird, 247. 
Catfish, 64, 69. 
Cave fish, 64, 69. 
Ceratodus, 84. 
Chameleon, 105, 107. 
Chauliodus, 34, 40. 
Chelys, 123. 
Chimasra, 44. 
Chirotes, 114. 
Chromis, 45. 
Claws, 132, 200. 
Climbing perch, 63, 65. 
Cobbler fish, 72. 
Cobia, 97. 
Cockatoo, 210. 
Cock of the walk, 243. 
Cod, 43. 
Colius, 227. 
Condor, 200, 202. 
Conger eel, 43. 
Coot, 185. 

Cormorant, 155, 165. 
Cowbird, 231. 
Crane, 181. 
Crocodile, 123. 
Crop, 134. 
Crow, 224, 226. 
Cuckoo, 213. 
Curlew, 188. 
Cyclothone, 40. 

Dace, 51. 
Deeps, 29. 
Detrema, 42. 
Dinornis, 141. 
Dodo, 198. 
Doras, 64. 

2 53 



Down, 133. 
Dredge, 26. 
Duck, 171. 

Eagle, 200, 206. 
Edible-nest swift, 219. 
Eel, 69. 
Eggs, 135. 
Egret, 183. 
Eider duck, 173. 
Electric fish, 69. 
Emu, 131, 146. 
Epinornis, 142. 
Eudyptes, 150. 
Eustomias, 37. 

Falcon, 205. 
Feather, 133. 
Fierasfer, 53. 
Finch, 235. 
Fish, 8, 17, 19, 22. 
Flamingo, 176. 
Flicker, 212. 
Flounder, 43, 54. 
Flycatcher, 223. 
Flying fish, 73. 
Fossil footprints, 137. 
Frog, 81, 92. 

Gallinule, 185. 
Gardener bird, 234. 
Garfish, 75. 
Gastornis, 140. 
Gavial, 125. 
Gecko, 104, 109. 
Giant ray, 63. 
Gila, 106. 
Gills, 15. 
Gizzard, 134. 
Godwit, 189. 
Goldfinch, 237. 
Goose, 171. 



254 



INDEX 



Grebe, 156. 
Green turtle, 107. 
Grosbeak, 235. 
Grouse, 189, 191. 
Guillemot, 153. 
Guinea hen, 193, 195. 
Gull, 157. 
Gymnotus, 70. 
Gyrfalcon, 205. 

Haddock, 43. 
Harpodon, 34. 
Hawk, 200, 218. 
Hawksbill, 116. 
Heron, 181. 
Herring, 43, 55. 
Hesperornis, 139. 
Hornbill, 217. 
Horned lizard, no. 
Horse mackerel, 75. 
Humming bird, 221. 
Hyla, 88, 94. 

Ibis, 178. 
Iguana, 107, 108. 
Ipnops, 32. 

Jabiru, 179. 
Jay, 227. 
Jelly fish, 57. 

Kingbird, 223. 
Kingfisher, 215. 

Lammergeier, 203. 
Lamprey, 13. 
Lark, 231. 
Larva, 86. 
Leaping tuna, 75. 
Leatherback turtle, 120. 
Leipoa, 196. 
Lepidosiren, 82. 
Limpkin, 186. 
Linnet, 236. 
Linophryne, 40. 
Lizard fish, 103. 
Loon, 154. 
Love bird, 210. 
Luminous fish, 34, 37. 
Lumpfish, 43. 
Lumpfish sucker, 52. 



Lung fish, 66. 
Lyre bird, 224. 

Macaw, 211. 
Mackerel, 43. 
Magpie, 228. 
Maleo, 197. 

Man-of-war hawk, 170. 
Marabou, 179. 
Meadow lark, 231. 
Megapodius, 196 
Merganser, 172. 
Migration, bird, 250. 
Mixne, 44. 
Moa, 141. 
Mocking bird, 246. 
Mollymauk, 160. 
Monitor, 113. 
Mother Carey's chicken, 

163. 
Mouse bird, 227. 
Murre, 154. 
Musk turtle, 122. 

Nest builder, 49. 
Night hawk, 218. 
Nightingale, 288. 

Ocean, 30. 
Oriole, 229. 
Osprey, 204. 
Ostrich, 131, 143. 
Owl, 135, 201, 207. 
Ox-biter, 228. 

Palapteryx, 141. 

Paradise, bird of, 227. 

Paradise fish, 49. 

Paraquet, 211. 

Parrot, 210. 

Partridge, 189, 191. 

Peacock, 193, 195. 

Peewee, 223. 

Pelican, 38, 167. 

Penguin, 149. 

Perch, climbing, 9, 43, 63, 

69. 
Periophthalmus, 67. 
Petrel, 163. 
Phalarope, 188. 
Pheasant, 192. 



Phcebe, 223. 
Phosphorescence, 25. 
Pickerel, 58. 
Pigeon, 197. 
Pipit, 243. 
Plagiodus, 34. 
Plover, 187. 
Plowshare bone, 132. 
Plume, 134. 
Porcupine fish, 71. 
Proteus, 86. 
Ptarmigan, 191. 
Puffin, 154. 
Python, 99. 

Quail, 190. 
Quill, 133. 

Radiolarian, 33. 
Rail, 185, 186. 
Rattlesnake, 100. 
Raven, 224, 225. 
Razorbill auk, 153. 
Ray, 62. 
Remora, 80. 
Rhea, 145. 
Road runner, 214. 
Robin, 248, 249. 
Ruff, 188. 
Rufus, 221. 

Salmon, 79. 

Sanderling, 188. 

Sandpiper, 186. 

Sargasso Sea, 56. 

Sawfish, 62. 

Scales, 15. 

School, 33. 

Scopelus, 34. 

Sculpin, 56. 

Seal, 55, 155. 

Sea horse, 45, 46, 56. 

Sea parrot, 154. 

Sea robin, 75. 

Semotilus, 46. 

Shaft, 133. 

Shark, 31, 44, 58, 60, 63. 

Shearwater, 164. 

Skate, 61. 

Skink, 108. 

Skua, 160. 



INDEX 



255 



Skyjark, 225. 
Smelt, 43. 
Snake, 96, 98. 
Snapping turtle, 121. 
Snipe, 187. 
Sole, 43. 

Solenostoma, 45. 
Sora, 185. 
Sparrow, 235. 
Spawn, 22. 
Spoonbill, 177. 
Starling, 228. 
Steelhead, jj. 
Sternoptyx, 39. 
Sternum, 132. 
Stickleback, 47. 
Stilt, 188. 
Stork, 178. 
Sturgeon, 20, 43. 
Sucker, 52. 



Sunfish, 12. 
Surinam toad, 93. 
Swallow, 130, 239. 
Swan, 175. 
Swift, 219. 
Swordfish, 53, 68, 79. 

Tailorbird, 245. 
Tallegallus, 194. 
Tanager, 238. 
Teal, 172. 
Tern, 161. 
Thrasher, 247. 
Thrush, 248, 249. 
Tit, 245. 
Toad, 90, 91. 
Toadfish, 50. 
Toucan, 217. 
Tree toad, 89, 95. 
Trogon, 216. 



Tropic bird, 164. 
Tuna, 75. 
Turkey, 189, 192. 
Turtle, 80, 114. 

Umbrella bird, 245. 

Vane, 133. 
Vireo, 241. 

Wader, 186. 
Warbler, 242. 
Waxwing, 240. 
Weaver bird, 244. 
Willet, 187. 
Wiriwa, 227. 
Woodcock, 188. 
Woodpecker, 211. 
Wren, 243. 

Yellowtail, 8, 21. 



AUG 1 1906 



p& s . 




